


Until Death Do Us Part-NatBucky/Steggy AU

by AliasFics374



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: 1940s, Alternate Universe - 1940s, Alternate Universe - World War II, Awesome Peggy Carter, Bucky Barnes & Steve Rogers Friendship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Happily Ever After Fest (EXO), Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Natasha Romanov, Spy Natasha Romanov, Steggy - Freeform, Steggy Week 2020, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov Friendship, WinterWidow Week 2020, natbucky, winterwidow - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:21:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 60,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28413807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliasFics374/pseuds/AliasFics374
Summary: He always got himself into fights, fights he couldn't win. That's just Steve for you. So when Bucky finds Steve getting beat up in an alleyway he isn't surprised, but he is surprised that he doesn't have to do the defending. Instead he finds a redhead fighting the man who was punching Steve, and winning. Instantly, Bucky's attracted to her, and over the course of a few days, strangely, he sees her more than once. But then the realities of the War in Europe takes him away from both Steve and Natasha. Little does he know that Steve is approved for Project: Rebirth and Natasha becomes an OSS spy. Together, along with the help of Peggy, one of the top agents, they take down HYDRA (and fall in love during the process).This AU takes place during the 1940s and follows most of the plot line for The First Avenger. Both NatBucky and Steggy happens throughout this story, and both ships will get the happy ending they deserve. It's told from multiple POVs (mostly, Natasha, Steve, Bucky, and Peggy's), and in general I'm pretty proud on how this turned out. The story won't continue onto the 21st century.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov, James "Bucky" Barnes/Natasha Romanov, Peggy Carter & Natasha Romanov, Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov
Comments: 8
Kudos: 21





	1. Prologues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little disclaimer for this entire AU, I've never written Steggy before and honestly it's not my favorite ship, but I felt that for this time period I should most definitely include it into the story. Don't worry, of course Peggy and Steve's relationship will be highlighted greatly in this story, but don't be surprised if I tend to focus more on Natasha and Bucky's relationship (which I tend to write more of). I really hope you enjoy this whole AU. I loved writing it and already it's one of my favorite works!
> 
> Thank you for the support!

(Natalia’s Prologue)

“You were left on the doorstep,” Ms. Alekseev told her. 

“There was a fire, you were the sole survivor,” Mrs. Bortnik told her.

“Found you in the streets, like the rest of these mutts,” old Mr. Ilyin told her.

Mrs. Kotov just gave her an absent minded shrug. “We get new kin everyday. Only God knows where you came from, girl.”

Natalia stopped asking after that response. She had grown up in the orphanage, that held around nearly forty other girls, and fifty six young boys. Once they turned 15 or so, Mrs. Kotov would kick them onto the street (due to lack of space), most without having even a cent in their pocket. And that was if you got lucky. Sometimes (like in Natalia’s case) you were kicked out at a younger age. 

Not like the orphanage was a decent place to live in the first place. The large, manor-like, building was unkept, and practically rotting. The rooms smelled like must and grime. The windows were tinted, due to dust, spiderwebs or gunk. And the winters were freezing and intense. No matter what, the building was always ice-cold.

The food was usually donated, so in many cases the children would go weeks without a proper meal. And the orphans? They were just trying to survive, causing for a pecking order to fall into place.

Natalia knew from a young age, that she wasn’t high on that list. She was smaller, her stature petite. She was smart, brave and a witty little thing, yet had learned no basic self defense skills before being thrown into fights. Thus, her becoming the butt of humorless schemes and taking the blame for accusations had become quite typical. Punched here, slapped there, girls would whisper rumors of her all the time. Boys liked to joke around with her, bet on which girl could last the longest in a fight without crying (Natalia learned how to win that one). The older orphans would team up on her, take everything from her, to the point of stripping her of her dignity (quiet literally when they burnt nearly all her clothes). And soon enough she had seemed to become the weakest link.  
The orphanage was no place for her. Other than the free shelter and little food they provided, she had no place there, and no interest in staying.

So when three young siblings, all under the age of 8, were left parentless after a house fire, Natalia had decided to leave. Mrs. Kotov didn’t give a care, she was more than happy to see Natalia gone. One more open bed. 

But Natalia was only ten, and had no clue about how to live in the outside world. Until… Alexi. He found her laying on a newspaper in an alleyway, he looking only twelve at the time. 

“I haven’t seen you on the streets before. Where do you come from, girl?” he asked.

As if just by habit, Natalia backed away. She didn’t know his intentions. And by experience, she assumed everyone was out to punch her.

“It’s okay, I’m friendly.”  
Natalia didn’t budge, nor talk. He shook his head.

“You look lost, do you need help?”

She just watched him.

“Can you understand me?”

No response. He sighed.

“I’m trying to help you.”

Other kids had tricked her that way before. She wouldn’t fall for it again.

“Here,” he handed her something, a stale piece of bread. “I’m Alexi.”

Nobody had ever actually given her anything, they always just took. She didn’t have immediate trust with the boy, yet she didn’t exactly want to be alone on the streets either. 

“Natalia,” she said softly, after a moment. Giving her name wouldn’t be harmful, right?

“Where do you come from, Natalia?” he asked again. This time she had answered.

“The orphanage,” she honestly didn’t even know the name of it. She had never been outside the bleak building.

“Mrs. Kotov’s?” he grimaced.

She nodded.

“What’s the point of them taking in kids when they just kick you right back out again?” he shook his head. “I know a better place you can stay.”  
Natalia was hesitant to say the least. Could she trust this boy just because he showed her one act of kindness? No. She needed some sort of way to defend herself at least.

“Can you punch? Fight?” she asked.

He looked at her, confused with her question.

“Yes, I can…” he stated.

“Then teach me.”

His expression became even more confused.

“I’ll only go if you teach me to fight, so I won’t be helpless anymore. I’m done being helpless.”

He gave her a kind smile, “I’ll teach you.”

And he did. He taught her how to fight well, shoot a gun (who knows where he had found it), steal, and just how to survive on the streets. Alexi was Natalia’s first friend at age 10. Her first kiss at age 12. You could say her first love at age 16. And, Natalia’s true first loss at age 17. He died in a factory accident. 

Once Natalia turned 18, she decided that she would leave Russia behind. Living on the streets was all she had known, and she knew she wouldn’t want to keep living on the Russian streets, not with civil tensions growing higher and higher. So, Natalia learned english, and many other languages in fact, then moved to America. 

She moved to the Lower East side of Manhattan. 

o0o

(Bucky’s Prologue)

“You’ll be okay, Becca. You’ll go to England, I’ll go with Captain Smith to New York,” Bucky wrapped his sister in his arms. One last goodbye, he hoped it wouldn’t be for forever.

“I’m scarred. Without you, without father? I…” she cried into Bucky’s shoulder, her perfectly curled brunette ringlets already becoming undone.

Bucky was only twelve, Rebecca nine, when they parted ways. Their mother had died when Rebecca was only an infant, and their father was killed in training at Camp Lehigh just a few days before this goodbye. They had moved a lot, never stayed in one place long, due to their father’s work. James Buchanan, and Rebecca P. Barnes where “army brats”; they were raised around military life. And now with their father gone, they had to part ways.

“You’re going to be okay. I promise you, we’ll see each other again. You’ll be a young woman then, graduating from Bloxham School,” he smiled, trying to keep the departure at least somewhat cheerful.

“And you’ll be a Commando,” she added. 

“If all goes well,” Bucky scoffed.

She grinned up at him, then began to haul her luggage towards the cab waiting. Bucky helped, carrying what he could, while a Military Officer lifted the last two trunks into the back of the automobile. Before she entered the car, Rebecca stopped and turned around, embracing her brother in a final hug.

“I love you James, I’ll miss you,” she said into his neck.

“Love you too, Becca. I’ll see you later,” he nodded, then watched her get into the cab and leave.

“Ready to get to work, Barnes?” Captain Smith asked, once the car was out of sight.

“Yes, sir,” Bucky responded respectfully, and followed the captain back into the camp premises.

A few moths later, they had moved to New York, just like Bucky had told Becca. It was right after his thirteenth birthday, and he was in the seventh grade. Smith had him attend the local school, which was larger than any other school he had attended before. If anything, he and Rebecca rarely went to formal school. They were instead taught by the officers and soldiers when there was time. Going to school on a regular basis was new for him, yet he didn’t struggle much with it.

He did well enough in the mathematics, histories and science classes. English wasn’t his strong suit, yet he didn’t fail, Latin was a struggle as well, but he had passed. And then there was PE, which he excelled at. The captains would always choose him as first pick, and Bucky began to become close friends with the other athletic boys in his grade. But that all changed one day.

After making a stupid joke in Mrs. Hill’s history class, Bucky was sent to detention. He waited the thirty minute period, in the presence of two other kids he didn’t know, both of which were in trouble for skipping class.

When he was leaving the school to head back to Smith’s, he heard a sound. A set of grunts, and some mocking. Bucky knew exactly what those sounds meant, somebody was getting beat up.

He made his way around the side of the building to find two boys, which James had considered “friends” ganging up on a skinny blonde haired boy.

“Hey! Barnes! Join in. Surprisingly, this runt just won’t let up!” the taller one, Blake, called to Bucky.

“What’re you doing?” he asked instead. 

“Oi, isn’t it obvious? He gave us trouble, he pays for it,” the other boy, Billy, laughed, as if the question was ridiculous. 

Billy landed another punch onto the skinny boy, causing his nose to begin to bleed. The blonde tumbled back, then regained his stance; his fists in the air, his face defiant. 

“I can do this all day,” he responded. Now blood was dripping down from his nose onto his lip. He rubbed it away with the collar of his sleeve.

Bucky walked over, and his two “friends” let him get close to the skinny kid. They expected him to throw a punch or something, but he just stared at the boy. Really, he looked no older than Bucky. He even swore he saw him in his art class once. Bucky thought he was the one that sketched an articulate picture of a rabbit.

The kid seemed innocent, scared, but still put on a brave face, ready to fight whatever Bucky would throw at him. But Bucky knew he wouldn’t throw a punch, not at the blonde, anyhow.

“Go on, give ‘em your best punch,” Blake taunted.

Bucky stood there a moment, then turned around and punched Blake square in the face. “Try picking on someone your own size,” he smirked.

“Oh, James, you chose the wrong person to fight,” Blake recovered from the punch and cracked his knuckles. 

“Hm? Try me,” Bucky taunted back.

Blake tried to throw a punch, yet his aim was horrible and Bucky quickly dodged the blow. Billy, then lunged for him, but he was ready, and took down his classmate with just a left hook. As Billy tumbled backwards, Bucky added a good kick to his rear, then gave Blake a mean uppercut.

Both boys looked at him with surprise, then retreated. “And it’s Bucky, not James, you fools,” he added as they ran out of sight, like a pair of dogs with tails between their legs.

“Why’d you do that?” the blonde asked. “I thought they were your friends.”  
Bucky shrugged. “I thought they were too. But no friend of mine would beat someone up for no reason. Teaming up on an innocent, like yourself? That’s even worse.”

They stood on the side of the school building for a moment. An almost awkward silence in the air, then Barnes spoke.

“I’m James, but I prefer to be called Bucky,” he explained, and held out his hand for the skinny boy to shake. He did, and it almost shocked Bucky how light his hand was.

“I’m Steve. Steve Rogers. Nice to meet you Bucky.”

Since that day, Steve and Bucky had became best friends, practically family. Their friendship only strengthened through secondary school, and then onto adulthood. Once they turned 18, they shared an apartment in Brooklyn. Bucky found that there was no need to stay at the camp when he could fend for himself. Plus, he preferred living in the city. 

Yet he still continued to train for the Army, to become one of the Commandos, like his father had wanted for himself, while Steve pursued his love for art. Neither of them expected what would happen in the next few years. That they would live in and fight a war. That they would win one. And fall in love with two remarkable women during the process of it all. 

o0o

(Steve’s prologue)

Steve had always been sickly. As an infant, he was prone to illnesses, and his mother would say it was a miracle that he was even born. As he grew older, though, Steve found that it wasn’t just viruses that were his main threat, but bullies.

Even on the first day of grade school, Steve knew he wasn’t like the other boys. Well, the other boys made a point about that. The young Rogers tried, you had to give him credit. He would walk over to the rest of the kids playing ball on the field, and ask if he could join in their game.

Every time, he got a “no”, followed by teasing and sometimes spiting. So, instead, he would sit during their lunch breaks and recess time, drawing. He found he liked to draw, nobody could say no to that. But they could still find ways to bully him for it.

At a school fair, during October, where the campus was decked with fall-like decorations and carnival games, Steve tried to join in a game of the bean-bag toss. Little Steve, who was only ten at the time (but looked more like eight), asked if he could play a round. A kid he recognized, William, scoffed.

“You should go over to the arts and crafts table with all the other sissies,” he joked. That evoked more laughter to erupt from the other boys nearby.

“Yeah, bet he can’t even throw the bag a foot,” another added.

Steve felt his face flush red, and he walked away, not knowing what to do or say.

“Gonna cry to your momma? You baby!” they taunted after him. And Steve made a run for it, trying to get out of their sight before he did start to cry. 

His mother would tell him to be strong, not give a care to those bullies. That bullies only bully you because you’re better than them. But Steve had his doubts. They bullied him because they could. And he hated it. 

When they grew older, the bullying didn’t stop. And the boys teamed up on other kids as well, but Steve always had the heart to protect them. Their target for this week? Samantha Taylor, a new girl in their class that immigrated from Britain. They began to pick on her for her accent, causing her to cry in class.

They were in the seventh grade then, Steve being about twelve at the time. During lunch, he walked up to the boys, nearly shaking, but persisted. It was disgraceful, that those boys had made the poor girl cry. She was beyond humiliated, and now the center of gossip for the other girls in their grade. 

“What you want, skinny?” Billy, asked. He was the only one sitting out of the game of football the rest of the athletic boys were playing. He had twisted his ankle earlier on in the day.

For a moment, Steve just watched the other boys play. He wished he was strong enough to do it as well. It seemed fun, plus the girls seemed to like the boys that were strong and played sports (not like that was Steve’s only goal in life, of course). Another kid caught his eye. He was new as well, from some military camp in rural Virginia. But he was strong, athletic, and the boys had friended him.

“Spit it out before I knock your block off, Rogers,” Billy said, impatient.

“Stop picking fun at that girl. You made her cry in class,” Steve stated.

“Yeah, that’s the point. It was funny,” Billy shrugged.

“Well stop it, or else…”

“Or else what? You’ll beat me up?” the boy laughed. 

“Yeah. I will. I’ll fight you, after school today. Thirty minutes after last period,” he said.

“Ha, you can’t be serious…”

Steve only stood strong, and he tried to make his gaze seem intimidating.

“Well, be ready to get your ass kicked, skinny.”

Steve walked away, nearly dreading what was to come after school. But if that meant they would stop bullying Samantha, then so be it.

***

Like Billy had said, Steve waited after school, for half an hour. But when Billy showed up, he wasn’t alone. No, he was with Blake.  
“So he actually showed. Stupid thing, if you knew what was good for you, you would’ve went home,” Billy scoffed.

“And you’re so scared, you brought Blake?” Steve taunted, a smirk on his face.

“No, I just thought it would be nice if we had an audience,” Billy shot back, and already had his hands in fists.

The boy advanced, getting closer to Steve until he had backed him into a wall. Steve put his hands into fists, ready to fight. Blake laughed at the sight.

“He’s actually gonna try to fight ya, Billy. Ha, pathetic.”

Billy grinned down on Steve, a malicious grin. But he didn’t back down. No, Steve threw the first punch. It landed weakly on Billy’s arm, and the kid laughed.

“That’s the best you got? You really are pathetic.”  
He then threw two punches, one of which landed on Steve’s shoulder. He stumbled back from the impact, then sprang back onto his feet, ready. That earned a snicker from both boys, and they continued their fight. 

Steve took punch after punch after punch. A few to his gut, another to his arm, a couple to his chest and even some that landed on his face. By then, Blake too had joined in, once seeing that Steve wouldn’t just give up. They kept their taunts going, saying they’d beat him senseless if he kept this up.

That was when that other boy came around. The new kid that played football with Blake during lunch. Steve gulped. Had they really called another kid to come and finish the job? And he seemed strong.

“Hey! Barnes! Join in. Surprisingly, this runt just won’t let up!” Blake called.

Barnes…, or whatever his name was, walked over, his pack hanging cooly over his shoulder. 

“What’re you doing?” he asked.

“Oi, isn’t it obvious? He gave us trouble, he pays for it,” Billy stated, then threw a punch that landed on Steve’s face. He felt his nose begin to bleed, and knew a bruise would soon form from the hit.

Once regaining his footing, Steve stood up. “I can do this all day,” he said defiantly, while rubbing his nose off with his sleeve and readjusting his stance. He pulled his hands into weak fists once again, ready for the next punch. 

That boy, Barnes they called him, came closer to Steve, until they were no more than a foot apart. Once again, Steve became nervous. “He was an army brat, right? He could probably throw a killer punch, one that would knock me out for sure,” he thought in his head. Still, the blonde made an effort to keep a brave face.

“Go on, give ‘em your best punch,” Blake encouraged. 

Steve squinted, preparing for impact when… the boy punched Blake? And then Billy too? That was something he least expected. With just a few hits, and some remarks exchanged, both boys were off, running for the hills. Steve just stood there dazed, not knowing what to do. 

“Why’d you do that? I thought they were your friends,” he asked, confused.

The boy only laughed, and ran a hand through his brunette hair. He didn’t even get a scratch on him. Steve was truly impressed. Two bullies? Fought them both off? It was shocking!

“I thought they were too. But no friend of mine would beat someone up for no reason. Teaming up on an innocent, like yourself? That’s even worse,” he explained. It caused for Steve to relax, and begin to trust this boy. He seemed kind, witty, and definitely strong. He already knew that much.

They stood in silence for a moment before the brunette spoke again, reaching his hand out to shake Steve’s. 

“I’m James, but I prefer to be called Bucky,” he said, while shaking hands. A surprised expression crossed his face for a moment, then returned to normal.

“I’m Steve. Steve Rogers. Nice to meet you Bucky,” Steve introduced himself, with a smile. 

That day Steve had met his best friend, his brother. They continued onto secondary school, graduated, and shortly after, Steve’s mother died. It was heartbreaking for him. Even though Steve was 18, technically an adult, he still felt he needed his mother more than anyone. And now she was gone. It left a hole in his heart.

But Bucky was there. He was there for him at his lowest and highest moments, and Steve was grateful for him. Immensely grateful. They became roommates and shared an apartment together in Brooklyn. Steve studying art while Bucky trained for the Army.

And then… World War II happened…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course, suggestions, comments and kudos are welcome! Let me know your thoughts!


	2. The Fight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT: If there’s * in the quotation marks, it means the conversation is in Russian. Ex: “*Hello,*” the girl said (means: the girl said “hello” in Russian).

(Steves POV) 

Steve, once again, got himself into a fight. His opponent definitely had the upper hand. Steve found that everyone he fought had the upper hand. There wasn’t one fight he ever picked that he won, unless he was play boxing with Bucky, yet that didn’t count.

The fool was being disrespectful in the movie theater while reminders to help for the war effort played on the screen. And now, Steve was getting shoved into an alleyway because of it.

The war was definitely a trigger for him. Maybe it was because he applied to become enlisted in the army, five times, and was turned away, five times (due to his grocery list of illnesses he had suffered), but he couldn’t help start picking this fight. 

The man threw another punch, hitting him in the gut this time, and Steve doubled over in pain. Yet, he still got up, pulled his hands into fists and said, “I can do this all day.”

That received a chuckle from his opponent as he threw another punch that Steve barely dodged. 

“Hey!” a voice came from the edge of the alleyway. Steve and the man looked back, to see a girl standing on the street. She made her way towards them, a concerned look on her face.

“This is no place for a pretty dame like you, scram,” the man said, turning his attention onto the girl. More like a woman, she seemed to be nineteen or in her early twenties. The man calling her “pretty”, was an understatement. Her figure was slender and elegant, her hair an auburn red, flowing loosely in curls that nearly reached her shoulder. 

“You scram, you scumbag,” she shot back. Steve looked at her surprised. Most girls wouldn’t even turn their heads to a fight, nonetheless trash talk to the man throwing the punches.

“What did you just call me?” he fumed.

The man had now turned his attention off of Steve and onto the girl. Steve was worried, the man seemed ready to attack the lady and that was the last thing he wanted. No woman should get hit. Yet, she stood, unfazed, with a smirk on her face.

“Scumbag,” she taunted. 

“You bitch!” he yelled and ran towards her, his fists ready to fight.

Steve’s eyes widened. The man wouldn’t dare! He had to do something! But his feet were stuck, as if caught in quicksand, and he couldn’t move. No, Steve watched, stunned, as the lady dodged his punches and landed three of her own. A straight punch, a right hook, followed by an uppercut, all executed with perfection. She kicked him once, for good measure, then walked over to Steve.

Steve was too dazed to even see Bucky watching in the alleyway. And suddenly, in a blink the brunette was by his side while the girl was standing a few feet away, giving them space.

“You alright?” Bucky asked.

“Yeah,” Steve muttered. “Thanks to her.”

o0o

(Natasha’s POV)

The taller man, dressed in a military uniform, helped the skinny blonde to his feet. Meanwhile Natasha stood awkwardly to the side, not really knowing what to do. She fiddled her fingers for a moment as they talked, until the conversation was turned to her as the topic.

“Um… thank you, for saving Steve. Getting into fights is pretty common for him,” the brunette explained, getting to his feet and facing Natasha. He flashed a kind smile, and she returned it, tentatively. 

“You mean this is a regular occurrence?” she asked. The man just sighed while Steve shrugged his shoulders.

“You’d be stupid to pick fights you can’t win,” she added, now looking at Steve. Really, she was only walking by when she heard the grunts. That man was going to beat him for sure if she didn’t intervene. 

“Well…I..” he stuttered, not really knowing how to answer. That earned him a smirk from the redhead.

“He just can’t help himself,” the brunette tried to stifle a laugh. But then his face turned serious. “Thank you, miss. I mean it. I can’t always be around to save his ass.”

“I’m right here, you know,” Steve said, exasperated. 

“Now don’t expect me to always be there, I’m no nanny,” Natasha quipped, causing the man to laugh. 

“I’m Bucky,” he held his hand out to shake her’s. “Never seen you around these parts.”

“I could say the same about you. Natasha,” she replied, and shook Bucky’s hand. It was warmer and softer than she had expected, yet still a bit calloused (probably from military training).

“I’ve never seen a girl punch that good before,” Steve blurted. Natasha turned to face him. His cheeks turned red and just from his expression, she could tell he wanted to take it back.

“What? You’re surprised?” she scoffed.

“No, no. I don’t mean it like that, I…” he stumbled over his words and walked over to Bucky’s side.

“Relax, I’m joking,” she laughed. Then began walking out of the alleyway. Both boys followed shortly behind. She noticed, Bucky’s walk was confident, almost like he was trying to impress her (she knew the type), while Steve nearly tripped over his own feet, twice. It was an unlikely friendship to say the least, and they didn’t look enough alike to be brothers, so she assumed the former.

“I should get going. It’s getting late,” she explained while turning to leave.

“I can walk you home,” Bucky stated, almost too eagerly.

She shook her head with a laugh, “I think I can manage.”  
He gave her a curt nod and she was on her way, yet she could feel both men’s stares on her back. She quickly turned a corner, and was glad they didn’t make any effort to follow her.

But she shouldn’t have been worried. Natasha cursed herself in her head. Why did she always assume the worst in people? So she wouldn’t get hurt. But still!

Bucky seemed like a genuinely nice man. To take care of Steve like that? He was no bully or harasser. So why did she turn him down so quickly? Maybe because of where she lived.

Brooklyn was no glorious neighborhood either. She had passed at least three homeless men laying on the streets and four drunken bastards that made a quip on her appearance as she walked “home”, but still. It wasn’t anything compared to the Lower East side of Manhattan. 

And the last thing she wanted both Bucky and Steve to know the fact that she didn’t exactly have a “home”. Being a 20 year old woman, and living in New York, without a permeant residence, was nothing you ever shared. It was only one more reason for men to think they could take advantage over you. You had no defense, other than yourself. Of course, Natasha had lived on the streets since she was young, but she had lived in a group.

Alexi showed her to his friends, and they became a little gang. They would pit pocket during the day, sometimes steal some food in the afternoon, and find an abandoned building to sleep in during the night. They were her family, they looked after her, and she looked after them. If anyone threatened Natalia, you bet Alexi and his friends would come to her defense.

But now young Natalia with her gang of friends had turned into Natasha without anyone. Not to mention that finding a job was much harder than she thought. Work was already scarce due to the depression that had happened in the US when she was an infant. And for the jobs that were available, Men always got first pickings. Even the jobs she had applied for (that were for women) had turned her away due to her invalid information and the fact that she was an immigrant. She had no property, no home, so when the applications asked for a street address, she left it blank, or made something up (which nearly got her arrested once).

Eventually, after a few months in New York, Natasha came across an elderly Russian woman who owned a little seamstress shop with her husband. She was just walking by when the woman pulled her inside, one winter evening.

“Girl,” she said, a worried expression on her face. “I’ve seen you walk this stretch many times in the past week. You have no good coat and it’s very cold out there.”  
Natasha immediately recognized the woman’s accent. Russian.

“No, no. I’m fine,” she said, getting ready to leave.

“Please, I can’t bear to see you just wandering out there in the cold. You could get sick. Look here at these coats I’ve made, I’m sure one would suite you. You do have a lovely look to yourself, dear,” she persisted.

Natasha smiled kindly at the elderly lady, then relented and looked at the woman’s coats.

They were nice, to say the least. Warm, made of wool, and if Natasha had enough money she would’ve bought it. But she didn’t have any money to spare.

“I’m sorry madam, but I don’t have enough money,” the redhead explained, and turned to leave.

“Wait, I’ll speak with my husband.”

Natasha didn’t know how the woman speaking with her husband would change anything, but she patiently waited, browsing the other clothes displayed around the tight room. Fancy dresses, but modest and plain ones as well. Stockings, short petticoats for skirts, gloves, hats and caps, as well as even men’s suites and dress shirts.

She looked down at her own tattered dress. Stains were evidently shown, and this was the cleaner and warmer dress out of the two she owned. The light yellow color was fading and you could tell it was at least a size too small. She had only been in New York for a couple months, but already she felt unprepared for everything. She had never lived in such a large city, Stalingrad didn’t compare. But she decided, she didn’t need a coat. Besides the winters in New York were nothing compared to Russia, yet once snow would hit..? Maybe a coat would be nice.

The woman came back, catching Natasha stroking her hand over a nice woolen dress. She smiled at the girl, then cleared her throat.

“Here, you take this as a gift,” the woman held out a coat to her.

“Oh, no. I couldn’t. You don’t need to feel obliged to…”

“I feel obliged to any young Russian woman trying to make a life here. They aren’t very kind to us, Devushka,” she explained, and once again held the coat out for her to take.

“How did you…?” Natasha’s voice faded as she took the coat into her hands. She did actually need it.

“You’re good at masking your accent, but I know a Russian girl when I see one. Nobody else could tough this weather in a flimsy dress. And nobody else ever calls me madam anymore,” she smiled.

“Well, I need to return home. It’s getting late,” Natasha thanked the woman and left before she could ask questions. She didn’t want the kind lady to know she had no home, no family, no source of income. She knew that the seamstress would feel the need to take care of her and look after her, and Natasha didn’t want handouts.

She would take the coat and nothing more. Yet, she still found herself passing the shop. And once she got enough money (mostly from stealing, old habits die hard), she purchased a dress or two from the woman, who discounted it for her. Their friendship grew, and Natasha was eventually offered a job that paid very little (not enough to live off of but it was still something).

That’s where Natasha returned after her encounter with Bucky and Steve, to Mrs. Sokolv’s seamstress shop. It was the closest thing Natasha ever had to a home. And Mrs. Sokolv was the closest thing Natasha ever had to a mother. Same with Mr. Sokolv as a father. When Mrs. Sokolv had found Natasha in a homeless shelter one night, when she had been donating hand sewn blankets, she slapped her across the cheek. 

“*You never told me this! I would’ve taken you in at once, come. You shouldn’t live like this,*” the lady grabbed Natasha by the arm, leaving her no choice but to follow. Ever since, she had lived with the Sokolvs. They were her family that she had never had, and she was almost like a daughter to them. 

At first (Natasha fashion), she tried not to get too close to the two. She tried to distance herself as much as possible, and she still did. She paid them for rent (less than normal, but still did), even if they refused, saying a bed with a roof overhead should be a right, not a privilege. And Natasha had her own life, she didn’t pester them 24/7, yet she couldn’t help becoming closer to the Sokolvs. This scared her. The last time she got close to somebody, they were taken too soon. She didn’t want the same to happen again.

Natasha neared the shop, and entered the small warm building with a smile. If she had to be honest, this was her favorite place. Her favorite place in the world even, maybe second to that view on the top of one of the high rises a few blocks down. The shop always smelled like a sort of cider or coffee and a mix of sweet spices and just had a comforting glow to the place. 

“*Afternoon, Krasnysha,*” Mrs. Sokolv called from the counter, in Russian, with a smile. She was up to her arms with fabric, cutting and measuring quickly.

A tentative customer was waiting on the other side, seeming almost annoyed.

“I’ll be with you in a minute, miss,” Mrs. Sokolv told the lady (in english now) and continued to cut the fabric. Natasha joined her behind the counter while she put her hair up into a small bun.

“*You go. I can cut the fabric,*” she whispered, and took the measurement list out of Mrs. Sokolv’s hand. The woman smiled at her kindly, then left to assist the impatient customer.

Natasha took the scissors into her hands, the cold metal immediately sending a shiver down her spine, while she snipped at the long length of the newly purchased fabric. It was a custom order, an elegant sort of gown made with an expensive silk. The color: a glistening dark red, like crimson blood. Someone with good money must’ve purchased it, just getting cotton scraps was hard enough, and their inventory had decreased dramatically. Mrs. Sokolv even said that in less than a month, they’ll only be able to sew custom orders, nothing else. She simply didn’t have the money and people weren’t buying many clothes anyways. 

Donating had became the trend, anything for the war effort. And Natasha understood that. Chances are she would donate herself if she had anything to give. Everything she had was stored in a small box in the corner of her room that she rented from the Sokolvs (it was really just a roomy closet). Yet nothing of importance to others, just some trinkets that were memorabilia to her childhood. What was left of it anyhow. 

“*Where were you today, dear?*” Mrs. Sokolv asked after the customer had left the shop. Natasha broke out of her daze and looked over at the elderly woman. She had a common expression Natasha recognized from the seamstress, like she was trying to contain an outburst of emotion (must’ve been the customer’s fault).

“Brooklyn,” Natasha explained. She had went there for no reason at all, actually. She had planned to catch a movie with the little extra coins she had saved up but decided otherwise and just strolled the streets instead. That was until she heard Steve getting jumped in the alleyway.

Mrs. Sokolv chuckled. “*My dearest friend used to live there. Both our parents were from Russia and we got along well. Our parents didn’t, but we did. I haven’t went over there in years.*”  
“*It’s only a twenty minute cab ride,*” Natasha scoffed.

“*But you, my dear, walk,*” the lady chuckled.

“*So what? An hour of exercise never hurt anyone,*” she shrugged, and that caused for Mrs. Sokolv to chuckle some more.

“*Oh, to be young.*” And there was this look in her eyes, a glimmer of joy and nostalgia, like she was looking back on all her happy days as a young woman. For Natasha, other than her time with Mrs. Sokolv, it felt anything but. She didn’t feel like she had those “happy days”. Not really. She was just trying to survive out there. 

“*And when are you going to catch a boy? When I was your age and looked like you, I had suitors lined up,*” the seamstress muttered. “*Though, you may be even more gorgeous.”

Natasha smiled kindly at Mrs. Sokolv, but shook her head. “*No. No man. Don’t get your hopes up, madam.*”

No man or boy since Alexi. He held a special place in Natasha’s heart that she felt nobody could ever replace. If he hadn’t died, they might’ve moved to New York together. Natasha could even imagine it if she closed her eyes. She used to, when she couldn’t fall asleep at night, imagine him by her side. His smile and how his eyes looked. The sound of his voice whispering her name, the feeling of him holding her tight. Yet time had made the vibrance of those memories fade. Almost three years after his death, her recollection of him had became tainted. She tried so hard to keep grasp of everything she remembered of him, yet it had been so long and now… now she feared she was forgetting him. Not fully of course, but just the details. She can’t feel his touch anymore when she tries to imagine it, she can’t hear his voice, only remember his words. And that broke her heart. Mrs. Sokolv interrupted Natasha’s thoughts with her own response.  
“*Pity. If you find a good one, bring him by.*”

No, Natasha thought, there won’t be another boy. 

o0o

(Bucky’s POV)

“Where had Steve gone to?” that’s the thoughts that flowed through Bucky’s head. He was still waiting in front of the theater for the short blonde to emerge out of the crowd, yet he was nowhere in sight. Bucky looked up at the board that displayed the listings for the day. Yup, the show Steve planned to watched had ended about fives minutes ago, and there was still no sign of him (not like anybody stayed for the credits anyways).

Bucky didn’t know if he should stay in the front, or walk around and see if Steve had gotten himself into trouble. He eventually decided on walking around. Knowing Steve, him being in trouble seemed like the likeliest option.

As he walked, the sound of grunts and banter was heard coming from an alleyway, and immediately he assumed the worst. Steve was getting mugged, again. But as he turned the corner, Bucky saw something else going down. Yes, Steve was there, bruises already being sported on his arm and cheek, but somebody else was doing the punching. A girl. A redhead.

Well, she wasn’t a “girl girl”, no a young woman, maybe only a year or two younger than Bucky. And she was executing punches to perfection, almost elegantly. The bastard of a man didn’t stand a chance against the lady, and already Bucky felt a sort of attraction towards her. He didn’t know if it was due to her looks, or how she was fighting, but suddenly his heartbeat seemed louder.

So what? Bucky liked pretty girls. Who could blame him? Yet, she was different. Just having the guts to fight like that, Bucky knew she was different. No meek dame in distress, that was for sure.

Once the man had left the alleyway, with a good kick to his rear, Bucky ran over to Steve’s side. The woman seemed to back away, giving them two space. While doing so, she ran a hand through her hair, almost absentmindedly, causing the perfect loose curls to bounce back into place. 

“You alright?” Bucky asked Steve, who seemed pretty dazed himself.

“Yeah. Thanks to her,” Bucky followed Steve’s eyes that were placed on the red head. She seemed to be in a thought bubble of her own, not paying too much heed to their conversation. 

But once Bucky stood up, did she turn to face him. And that’s when he got a good look at her eyes. They were an emerald green, yet had a softness to it around the edges that turned to an almost seafoam. Either way, it was hard not to notice them. And, he noticed, after a moment, that it nearly matched her darker green dress. Yet her dress was more of an ivy.

“Um… thank you, for saving Steve. Getting into fights is pretty common for him,” Bucky finally stated. Why was he so flustered? Usually he could talk to girls easily, even the most pretty ones, the ones that made his heart throb. But here he was, James Buchanan Barnes, stumbling over his words.

“You mean this is a regular occurrence?” she asked, almost shocked and turn to look at both Steve and Bucky. Bucky gave her a sigh, while Steve shrugged his shoulders. Honestly, Bucky didn’t know why Steve did this all the damn time. He had a gracious heart, a noble one too. But Bucky knew there were times you picked a fight and other times you just let things be. 

“You’d be stupid to pick fights you can’t win,” she added onto her remark, now only looking at Steve. Bucky gave the blonde a look too, and Steve immediately got defensive.

“Well…I..” he tried to mutter a response, yet the girl only gave him a smirk that seemed to shut him right up.

“He just can’t help himself,” Bucky chuckled, which caused for Steve to send a death glare his way. A second later though, Bucky became serious.“Thank you, miss. I mean it. I can’t always be around to save his ass.”

And he did truly mean it. If she hadn’t been there, Bucky wouldn’t been afraid that Steve would have many more injuries than just a few bruises. And they couldn’t afford medical bills at the moment being.

“I’m right here, you know,” Steve shook his head, and sent another glare Bucky’s way. He just ignored it.

“Now don’t expect me to always be there, I’m no nanny,” she quipped. She had a good sense of humor too! One that could seem sarcastic and a bit standoffish, yet Bucky liked it just fine. He laughed at her remark and held out his hand.

“I’m Bucky. Never seen you around these parts,” he explained.

“I could say the same about you. Natasha,” she took his hand with her own and shook it. It was gentle, light and soft. Her palm felt small in his grip, but he had to remind himself that these delicate fists had just beaten the crap out of that bastard of a man. She could fool many with her appearance. He took note of it.

“I’ve never seen a girl punch that good before.” Bucky looked over to find Steve looking sheepishly at them two, and his cheeks immediately flared up into a mad red blush. 

Natasha let go of his hand and looked Steve over, almost judgmentally before speaking, “What? You’re surprised?”

Steve backed up, his blush only growing onto his ears too. It was his most embarrassing tell. Bucky just barely held back his laughter. “No, no. I don’t mean it like that, I…” Steve started and found his way to Bucky’s side.

“Relax, I’m joking,” she said smoothly, with almost an accent Bucky hadn’t picked up until then. She then began to walk out of the alleyway, towards the main street, and Bucky and Steve followed. 

“I should get going. It’s getting late,” Natasha explained with a small smile before turning to leave.

“I can walk you home,” Bucky blurted. He hadn’t actually planned on offering, yet he was just trying to be polite. 

“I think I can manage,” she shook her head and continued walking.

Bucky watched until she turned the corner, and Steve elbowed him a few seconds later.

“Ow,” Bucky gave Steve a glare, while the blonde just smirked up at him.

“What?”

“Oh, you know what,” Steve grinned, and began walking down the street.

“No, I don’t,” Bucky shot back, defensively.

“I think somebody has a dame on his mind,” he taunted.

“Shut up.” Bucky ruffled Steve’s head of hair and looked shyly away, hoping he wouldn’t notice his slight blush.

“If you don’t admit you like her, at least admit you’re jealous of her,” Steve added with a smirk as they continued to walk.

“Jealous? Pft. Why would I be jealous?” he asked, genuinely confused, but a sheepish grin graced his features.

“I think she punched better than you did,” he explained. That made Bucky playfully shove Steve, and Steve shoved him back.

“What? No, she’s good but not…”  
“You should’ve seen her,” Steve continued, his voice in a sign-song high.

“I did see her.”

“Well then, you should know the truth.”  
“Whatever, let’s get home, punk.”

They walked up the stairs to enter an apartment complex, then turned to one of the doors. Bucky took a key out of his pocket and opened the door, for both of them to enter the cold and dark room.

“I’ll get the fire going, you set up stuff for super,” Bucky instructed.

“And we’re having…?” Steve asked.

“I don’t know. Some boiled potatoes and gravy maybe, you know I can’t cook for the life of me.”

“Makes me wonder why I decided to become your roommate. Your meals have only been growing worse over the years.”

“Not like you could cook any better.”  
Hours passed and the two of them ate their dinner, boiled up some water for weak coffee that was paired with their stale cookies, for dessert.Then they got ready for bed. That’s when Bucky noticed something on the floor. It must’ve fallen out of Steve’s coat.

“You tried to apply again? Are you trying to get yourself arrested, or worse: killed?” Bucky asked, looking at the sheet of paper.

“You know I want to go to the war, more than anything,” Steve explained.

“Yeah, but for you, it’ll be suicide,” Bucky shook his head and threw the sheet into the trash can.

“Well you’re doing so much more than me. You’re going to be in the 107th Infantry Regiment. You’ll be one of the Howling Commandos. And I’ll just be here, doing nothing while you’re out fighting.”

“Please Steve, if you go, you’ll get killed. I can’t let that happen to you, pal.”

“And what if you die out there? And I couldn’t do anything?”

“If you apply, you’ll be with the basic army unit. You won’t be able to do a thing about it either way. Please Steve, just stay home.”  
Steve was quiet for a moment and Bucky sat down by the fire, letting the glow illuminated his face. 

“When do you leave again?” he asked, his voice nearly a whisper.

“In three days. The day after the expo,” Bucky explained, then his face brightened. “Which reminds me, we’re going.”

“What?”

“We’re going to the Stark Expo. I got us some tickets, plus two girls agreed to come. A double date.”

Steve’s face seemed to lift, yet only slightly. Then that hint of a smirk appeared on his face. “Yeah, like they’d get your mind off of Natasha.”

“Please, like I’ll ever see her again,” Bucky groaned. Steve only persisted with a stronger grin. “Come on, Steve. I only just met her today and sure she’s pretty, but I’m not in love with her, for God’s sakes.”

“Just saying, you looked at her differently,” Steve put his hands up in defense.

“What?”

“Yeah, you went all puppy eyes on her. When you shook her hand. She probably thought you were staring like a creep.”  
“Enough now, let’s get to bed,” Bucky shook his head. They parted into their separate bedrooms, and slowly drifted to sleep. 

As he lay in bed, Bucky couldn’t help but fear Steve was right. There was something different about Natasha. She was beautiful in a whole different way. Maybe it was because she could fight (probably better than he could), but he was helplessly attracted to the redhead.


	3. The Expo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still applies: the "*" lets you know when the conversation is in Russian

(Natasha’s POV)

“*What’s this?*” Natasha looked down at a newspaper Mrs. Sokolv had nearly flung at her.

“*A girl like you should do better things on a Saturday night than help me sew dresses or do who knows what,*” Mrs. Sokolv huffed over a cup of herbal tea. Natasha poured herself a cup, then return to her stitches. She was just readjusting the hem to one of her own dresses Mrs. Sokolv had made for her (custom to the inch), it was a navy blue A-line dress that had a white flower print all over, with a small collared neckline. 

“*So what’re you proposing?*”

“*Go to the Stark Expo.*”

Natasha gave Mrs. Sokolv a look and the woman just shrugged it off.

“*You know what a ticket like that costs? Unless you’re in the military, there’s no discount,*” Natasha shook her head. Plus she had other “plans” that day. She wanted to catch a ferry to Staten Island, just for the fun of it. 

“*And to think that would stop you, Krasnysha? I assume not,*” she stated while giving Natasha a knowing smile.

“*Fine. What harm could come of it anyways?*” the redhead shrugged, giving into Mrs. Sokolv’s pestering.

“*Then you better wear this,*” the seamstress held up a red skirt, made of the same silk fabric from the order that was purchased just two days before. And paired it with a beige button up blouse that had a loose collar. It was perfect. 

“*When did you..?*”

“*Can’t let a girl go without looking her best. I saved some scraps up for this,*” Mrs. Sokolv explained.

“*You shouldn’t have.*”

“*But I’m glad I did. It’ll be perfect for tonight.*”

“*Alright,*” Natasha muttered earning a smirk from the woman. She didn’t know how this red on red would look. She preferred to stick to the darker colors so it wouldn’t look odd against her hair color, yet this shade was in the realm of dark maroon, so maybe it would blend nicely. Only time would tell.

***

Saying the outfit looked nice on her was an understatement, even Natasha knew that. Her red hair was only a slight shade lighter than the skirt, enough so that it wasn’t off putting in any way. Not to mention that the blouse (which did accent her hourglass curves, middle, and generous bust) created some distance between the red shades. She styled her hair in a half-up hairstyle, curled to perfection and topped with a black hat that matched the black cardigan she was wearing as well.

Mrs. Sokolv nodded at her, satisfied with her work, then shooed Natasha out the door. “*Have a lovely time, Krasnysha,*” she said, her tone excited.

Natasha nodded at Mrs. Sokolv, then at the seamstress’ husband that was smoking a cigar right outside the shop. She made her way down the street, eventually found a cab, then watched the city lights go bye as she head to Queens. Flushing Meadows to be exact.

o0o

(Steve’s POV)

Like Bucky had said, two girls had agreed to come with them, making it technically a “double date”, yet neither of them were interested in him. Instead, they clung onto Bucky’s arm like two stubborn ticks, with each fighting the other in a flirtatious battle for the solider’s attention. The fact that he, once again was wearing his military uniform, only gave him more attention, and Steve found himself walking away from the whole commotion.

Sure, Stark’s gadgets were cool and all, but his mind was on other things. He found a tent where you could try to enlist. Steve walked over quickly, not even noticing where he was going until he bumped into someone. A familiar someone at that.

“Natasha?” Steve asked, looking at the girl he had just plowed into. It had caused her to drop a black sweater and hat she was holding in her arms. He reached down to pick it up, yet she already had both items in her hand again within a second. She had impressively quick reflexives, he noticed. 

“Oh, Steve,” she gave him slight smile and looked around. “You’re alone?”

“If you’re looking for Bucky, I have no clue where he’s at right now,” Steve shrugged.

“Well, I’m not looking for Bucky, and I wasn’t really looking for you either,” Natasha explained. “What’re you doing… here? Isn’t the big show that way?”

“Could say the same about you.”

She look over at the tent, then back at him. Eventually, he watched the dots (rather quickly) connect in her head.

“You want to enlist?” she asked, her expression surprised.

“I’ve already tried… five times,” he explained, shyly, looking away as he spoke.

“Now I really wonder where your head’s at,” she scoffed, shaking her head.

“You’re just like Bucky, you don’t understand,” Steve muttered.

“Well, explain it to me then. I have all night, not like I really wanted to come here anyways,” the redhead explained. Steve gave her a questioning glance. “My um… my mother forced me here.”

The blonde laughed at that, then began to walk. She kept his pace and they eventually found a bench to sit on. Steve shivered at the feel of the cold bench, and immediately took off his jacket to give to Natasha. If he was cold, she must be freezing, yet she shook her head. “I don’t get cold easily,” was her excuse.

“I just feel so helpless in everything. I want nothing more than to help, to fight. People are sacrificing their lives over there and all I can do is just donate and collect scrap metal? Do the jobs of kids? No, it’s my duty to fight for this country and freedom. I can’t just ignore that,” he explained, his eyes were focused on his shoes the entire time. He eventually looked up to see Natasha’s expression, she just looked at him with knowing eyes.

“And your problem is you’re too sickly to even join,” she finished. Steve just bobbed his head. 

“At least you don’t forbid me to go like Bucky,” he scoffed.

“I think Bucky’s just watching out for you. I would do that same. It would take a miracle for you to even survive the training, serious,” her green eyes bore into his blue, and he was already becoming defensive of his reasoning. Yet Natasha continued to speak with a softness in her voice. One that calmed him and made him feel… comforted, “But miracles can happen. If it’s that important to you… go ahead. Not like you need my permission. I barely even know you.”

“Well, Natasha, I’d like to say you know me better than most,” he stood up. “And thank you, I’ll try again.”

“That’s illegal.”

“I know.”

She gave him a smirk and shook her head in disbelief. It made Steve’s cheeks blush once more, and he gave her a wave before leaving to the tent. His hopes of becoming a solider were going to be filled, he just didn’t know it yet.

o0o

(Bucky’s POV)

Steve was gone. Again. Darn it! Where had he gotten off to?

“What’s wrong Bucky?” one of the girls, Irene, asked. Her brown hair bobbed as she turned her head to the side with concern, like a puppy. 

“It’s Steve, he’s gone.”

“Oh no, I hope he didn’t get lost!” the other, Harley, the blonde, swooned. Sure these girls were pretty, yet they seemed almost a bit overdramatic and sought out his attention too often. If anything, he was starting to get annoyed with the two’s constant flirting wars and death glares that they sent to one another when they thought he wasn’t looking. At this rate, he was starting to dislike both of them more and more. 

“Well maybe if we ask one of the officers they may have seen him. My father is friends with one of the chiefs. They’ll be sure to help once I introduce myself,” Irene added. 

Bucky rolled his eyes. Another thing he became annoyed with the two was the fact that they boasted far too often, bragging about everything under the sun. Both girls came from the Upper East Side of Manhattan, meaning they had money, and lots of it.

A sign eventually caught Bucky’s attention as they walked, “Enlist Here!”. Steve was bound to try again, he just knew it.

“Don’t mind the police, I think I know where he went.”

“And you’re a detective too? I’m impressed Bucky,” Harley said, slyly. 

He just ignored her and continued to follow the signs until he stoped in his tracks. There, sitting on the bench, was Natasha talking to Steve. They sat side by side, Steve doing most of the talking and her doing the listening.

Both girls followed his gaze onto the redhead, making Harley scoff.

“Street rat,” she muttered, shaking her head.

“What did you say?” Bucky asked, a tinge of anger in his tone.

“That girl? My mother had ordered a dress just in that color with that silk. You can tell she can’t afford it. Must’ve stolen extra scraps and put that get-up together. Just like the rest of them living on the Lower East Side, street rats. Tramps too.”  
Bucky wanted to yell at the blonde. She was ignorant and foolish, yet he held his tongue. Yelling at a girl could get him into trouble. Yelling at a rich girl could get him into trouble he couldn’t afford.

Irene had noticed his gaze. His longing gaze on Natasha. She did look breathtaking in her outfit, and he had the urge to ask her to dance, just to see how her skirt would twirl and her hair would bounce as they would move to the music. 

“Oh, Bucky,” Irene giggled. “Don’t get caught up in her trap. A girl looking like that, poor as well, most likely without a job? She’s a prostitute. Straight up. Where else would she get money? Like Harley said, a tramp.”

Bucky couldn’t take it anymore. How dare they say these things about her? They didn’t even know Natasha! If Natasha had heard, he knew she would’ve thrown a punch. And Bucky sure felt like doing the same, yet he kept his anger under control and shook his head.

“Go,” he said instead.

“What?” Irene asked, her hand over her parted red puckered lips.

“If you chose to talk like that, leave. Both of you. Find your own way home,” Bucky said, not even looking at the two.

“But Bucky, you promised to take us dancing!” Harley added.

“Not anymore, I’m sure a nice man would love to treat you girls, but not me.”

He waited for them to leave, feeling the icy-cold glares from both girls burn his back, yet it didn’t hurt much. The words they spoke of Natasha on the other hand? That hurt more. He watched Steve walk into the tent, probably trying to attempt to enlist again. Once he was out of sight, Bucky mustered up some courage and walked over to where she was sitting, now alone.

o0o

(Natasha’s POV)

“Natasha!”

She immediately knew that voice. Why did she already know his voice so well? That itself shocked her. Natasha turned her head to find Bucky walking up to her, a nervous and slightly angry expression on his face.

“Bucky,” she nodded in greeting. “Once I found Steve I figured you wouldn’t be far behind.”

“So, he’s trying to enlist again?”

“Sixth times a charm,” she quipped. And Bucky laughed lightly. She noticed that he seemed to laugh a lot around her. At least somebody understood her humor (which could be a bit dark at times).

But that still didn’t ease any nervousness he exuded. Confident proud Bucky, nervous? Natasha got straight to the point. 

“Something on your mind? You look like you’re gonna burst,” she stated, a bit curious actually.

“I had a date tonight. Well, two technically, since Steve didn’t make any moves,” Bucky started, his hand rubbing the back of his neck, anxiously.

Two dates? One night? He seemed like the player type. Natasha wasn’t surprised.

“And they were pretty. Decent girls, before…”

“Before…?” Natasha urged him on. She didn’t exactly have all night.

“Before they saw you.”

Whatever Natasha was expecting Bucky to say, that was definitely not it. His statement puzzled her. Why was he telling her this?

“They called you a street rat, a tramp. I nearly punched them,” he continued.

Natasha rolled her eyes. Just by the terms, she knew they were wealthy. Who cared what they thought? Obviously Bucky did. Natasha had learned to ignore everything said about her at a young age. As a budding teenager on the streets in Russia people called her a whore, a tramp, and many other downgrading terms. Alexi was always the hot head, ready to punch whoever dared to call teenage Natalia such. But she had grown to ignore it. Many times she’d fight back, but in most cases she bit her tongue.

“Doesn’t surprise me,” she shrugged.

Bucky gave her a surprised glance. 

“What? You think I haven’t gotten that before? Thief, tramp, scum, bitch, whore, all the same. All just words. I don’t take it personally. And if I feel in the mood for a fight, I fight. Otherwise I ignore,” she stated. Thief. That one hit home, though. Because she was a thief. Until Mrs. Sokolv took her in she was a thief. But she was changing? Right? Natasha hoped so.

“And what if I was a thief, or any of those things?” she asked. She need to know this. If he would judge her on her past. You could learn a lot about a man by the way he reacts to the ugly underbelly of a girl’s life. All her dark secrets. If she could even start to befriend him, she needed to know his reaction. 

Bucky didn’t know how to respond at first, yet eventually he spoke. Incredibly softly. “Are you?”

“Was. I was.”

He was almost taken aback. His face showed confusion, yet his eyes weren’t judgmental. That was new. She was usually always met with judgement.

“I grew up on the streets, Bucky. Before you even try to befriend me, I thought you should know. I’m an immigrant, and a woman. Finding jobs here? It’s not a piece of cake. So sure, I stole until I could get on my feet. But I’ve changed. At least I feel I have. It still is tempting, believe me. I could’ve pit pocketed at least ten people tonight, rich people at that. It would’ve helped me a lot. But did I? No,” Natasha took in a breath. She still watched his expression. She had never shared this much, ever. Not to one person in America. Why was she sharing this to Bucky of all people? What made her trust him? What made her want to tell him? She didn’t know. It was some gut feeling she barely recognized. But she did recognize it, slightly.

She had the same gut feeling when she met Alexi. When she trusted him to teach her how to fight.

o0o

(Bucky’s POV)

Bucky barely knew how to react. She was telling him a lot, and it seemed hard for her to do so. An immigrant? That’s probably where the accent came from. And her admitting everything? Nobody had really been that honest with him before. Bucky had assumed she wouldn’t be. That she’d keep that close to her chest, yet she didn’t. It surprised him, and he later realized that she could tell.

“Why am I telling you this? I don’t know myself. I just wanted you to know what you’re getting yourself into.”  
“What do you mean?” he asked, genuinely confused.

“Reputation wise. If you want to leave, get your dates back, now that you realize they’re right…”  
“No, Natasha,” Bucky shook his head. “They’re not right. They never will be. They’re just snobbish,” he explained with reassurance. They were both quiet for a moment. The sounds of the bustling crowds clapping in the distant background filled the air.

“You should pick better dates, then,” Natasha quipped after a moment, breaking the tension.

“Maybe I should,” Bucky responded in all seriousness with a soft gaze that connected with Natasha’s eyes. Once again, he was mesmerized by her green irises. They said so much but so little all at once. He discovered he could loose himself, looking at her like that. It was like he was in a trance.

Her lips parted slightly, almost in realization at what he had said. ‘Choose a better date.’ He was hinting at her, it caused for a blush to settle on her cheeks. Then Steve (much to Bucky’s disappointment) interrupted the moment.

“I’m approved!” he announced, beaming.

Natasha gave Steve a glimmer of a surprised look, but a smile did follow, then turned her focus back onto Bucky.

“Sixth times the charm, right?” she smirked at the brunette. 

And that caused for him to blush. God, this was embarrassing. Steve had definitely noticed and was watching the two, almost awkwardly. Then Bucky spoke, “Wanna go dancing?”

“Are you asking me on a date?” Natasha asked. Steve gave Bucky a knowing grin, but the solider just ignored it, his sole focus was on Natasha.

“Date or not, whatever you want call it. I have only tonight before I go overseas. I wanna spend it right,” he explained. “So, what’d ya say?”

She thought for a second, making Bucky all the more nervous. 

“Sure,” she smiled.

Now Bucky was beaming as well. 

“Told ya you could’t resist,” Steve whispered as Natasha gathered her things.

“Shut up,” Bucky whispered back, but he couldn’t help the smile that grew on his lips. 

o0o

(Natasha’s POV)

The three of them had found a swing club just a few blocks down the street. Being the gentleman he was, Bucky held the door open for her as they entered, and the sound of smooth jazz filled Natasha’s ears.

Immediately, Bucky grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the dance floor, not wasting any time whatsoever. She at first, let him guide her through a couple basic moves, yet Natasha had learned how to dance well. Her and Alexi used to mimic waltzers at Russian balls when they were kids, right before they would come up with a plan to pit pocket. But Russian Waltzing wasn’t the same as American Swing. The moves were much more fast paced and almost erratic. It made Natasha’s heart soar.

“You’re good at this,” Bucky complimented as she spun, her red skirt fanning out in a whirl.

“And to think you doubted me? Bucky, I am shocked!” she remarked, sarcastically. “You’re not too bad yourself.”

“That’s because my sister taught me,” he shrugged, guiding her hand onto his back as they moved in loopy circles around the hardwood.

“Well then, I must thank your sister,” she responded, following his lead on the tight turn and twist.

They didn’t talk for a while, just let the music carry them through the moves of a familiar dance both of them didn’t recall ever learning. It was like magic, almost. They never bumped awkwardly or stepped on each other’s feet. No, they were in synch without even trying.

As the song ended, Natasha added one last twirl, then took a joking bow at the absent audience, and one towards Bucky. When she stoped and just stood there, she noticed him staring, watching her with a soft gaze and a brilliant smile gracing his features.

“What?” she giggled.

“Nothing, you’re just… beautiful,” he said. 

Natasha’s breath caught in her throat. Other people had called her beautiful before, gorgeous, breathtaking even, but hearing Bucky say it? That had an effect on her she hadn’t expected.

She stood there, stunned for a moment as the music changed to a slower paced song, and Bucky held out his hand to her. He bowed, almost like those princes you read about in the fairytales.

“May I have this dance?”

She didn’t know if he was bowing jokingly, or was actually serious. Just by reading his expression it was hard to tell. Natasha didn’t trust her response to come out without a breathy edge, so she just nodded.

He placed a hand over her waist, and the other held her right palm. His grip was so gentle, it shocked Natasha, and she could already feel the heat of his touch sink through the layer of silk that separated her skin from his. This time, she did the leading, guiding him into a Russian Waltz that was paired with a composition that had a similar tempo. 

At first she had avoided his eyes, looked away at other random objects around the room. She caught sight of Steve as they moved, his skinny self just watching them as he drank a coke.

But it was as if Bucky’s eyes were a magnet, and she eventually found herself gazing into the piercing blue eyes of the to-be solider. He returned the gaze, and they just danced like that for the remainder of the song. Green eyes gazing into blue. It made Natasha’s heart skip, something she hadn’t felt in so, so long.

That scared Natasha, and she immediately broke out of their trance. When she felt the urge to kiss him, she broke away. The urger to lay her head against his chest to hear his own heartbeat, she broke away. She vowed not to do this again. Not to let her heart get hurt, again. Not to get close to anybody else again, nothing good ever came from it. 

So, she left the dance floor, breaking out of Bucky’s comforting and calming grasp. An embrace she wished she could stay in longer, yet… she knew she couldn’t. He trailed behind her, probably wondering what was wrong.

“I’m sorry Bucky, I can’t…” she explained as she walked, knowing he was by her side.

“It’s okay. It wasn’t a good idea on my part either. I’m leaving for war tomorrow, this all… that would be torture for both of us,” he explained, and there was evident hurt in his eyes.

So he did feel the same? That their connection was much more than just platonic? Did he want to act on it too? They both had their fears, and it was strangely for the same reason. She didn’t want to loose someone again. He didn’t want to be so far from her. With him going to fight, there was a high chance he wouldn’t return. They both knew that.

“I think I should get home. It was a lovely night, really Bucky,” she gave him a kind smile, which he took gratefully as they made their way over to Steve. She gathered her things, and placed her black hat on the top of her head, before heading towards the door.

“You shouldn’t go alone, not at this hour,” he stated, in which Steve nodded in agreement.

“Where do you live, anyhow?” Steve asked, then realized what he had said. “I’m not asking in a creepy way, of course, I just…”

“I know,” Natasha said, then sighed. “Lower East Side of Manhattan, the one and only.”

“No, that’s far too far for you to walk. I won’t have it,” Bucky shook his head, a stern look on his face. He was probably wondering how he even let her walk all the way back alone the first time they had met.

“I can take a cab,” she explained.

“Then we’re coming with you, alright?” the brunette responded.

“No, I can…”

“Nah-uh,” he placed a finger to her lips, quieting any protest she had. “Non negotiable.”

Natasha rolled her eyes, giving in. “Fine.”

o0o

(Steve’s POV)

Steve maybe wasn’t the most talkative, but he was by far the most observant. He had been a third wheel to many of Bucky’s dates in the past. He would always sit and watch his best friend flirt playfully and sometimes earn a kiss by the end of the night, but with Natasha, things were different. 

Just by watching them dance, as Steve sipped his soda (he couldn’t stomach alcohol very well), he noticed that they moved together well, in synch. And once a slow song came on, and they looked into each others eyes like they were in love? That gaze that Bucky had on Natasha? It was something Steve hadn’t ever seen from his best friend before. He thought they were going to kiss, yet Natasha broke away and left the dance floor. Her eyes sported an odd expression as she walked over to where Steve was sitting with her things. All Steve could think was: “what in the world did Bucky say or do to make her seem so rushed to leave?”

Turns out Natasha did want to leave, go home, and go alone. Yet both Steve and Bucky wouldn’t have it, knowing now that she lived on the Lower East Side. Instead, Bucky called a cab and the three of them squished into the back seat.

Natasha sat by the window, and so did Steve leaving Bucky in the middle. There was a heavy silence, yet Natasha didn’t seem to be disgusted by the fact that Bucky was sitting next to her (so that was a good sign), yet her decently talkative self didn’t speak once. Instead she just looked out the window, thinking something both Bucky and Steve didn’t know.

Steve, too, looked out the window. New York was breathtaking at night, and he enjoyed these midnight drives. His mother used to take him on some when he was a kid. Yet those days were over. Now, every time Steve glanced at Bucky, he saw that the brunette’s stare was focused on the redhead. It was a kind and gentle stare, but a sad one too. That, once again, got Steve thinking: “what in the world happened when they were dancing?”

About fifteen minutes later, they arrived on a street corner. Natasha told the driver to stop and the small cab did. They were in front of a seamstress shop that seemed dark and closed, squished between multiple other buildings on a desolate street. Both Bucky and Steve looked at her confused, but Bucky was the one that spoke.

“This is the place?” he confirmed. It didn’t seem like there were any houses or apartment complexes nearby and that worried them both.

“Yes,” she stared daggers at them two, with her head tilting to the driver. Steve connected the dots quickly, she lived in the shop. Many small business owners did, even if it was illegal. They would sleep in backrooms but close the rest of the shop down at night to prevent bringing suspicion, it was smart yet risky. In the past months, many people had been caught, due to late rents and evictions.

“Have good rest of your night, Natasha,” Bucky said before she could close the door.

“Thank you. I can say I’ve enjoyed mine,” she responded with a smile, closed the cab door, then continued to walk down the street and into an alleyway. Back access to the shop, Steve assumed.

Once they were out of sight, and heading back to Brooklyn, Steve spoke.

“What in the world did you say to her to make her leave so quick?” 

Bucky gave Steve an annoyed glance, but then explained, his eyes looking at different buildings out the window.

“I think we both knew that there wouldn’t be anything beyond tonight. Didn’t want to get attached,” he explained with a sigh.

“You mean you let that pretty girl go?” the old taxi driver asked with a chuckle.

Bucky didn’t respond, just continued to look out the window. 

“Could’ve at least gotten her address to write her, chap,” the driver added.

“Yeah, maybe I should’ve,” he shrugged.

Once again, Steve noticed that there was something different in Bucky’s expression. Bucky had never gotten hung up on a girl before, usually thinking he’ll move onto the next one. That meant only one thing, he didn’t want to move on. He wanted her. With this realization Steve was, honestly, surprised.


	4. Off to War

(Steve’s POV)

Bucky left the next morning. He was all suited up with a pack over his shoulder, looking ready for battle. He gave Steve one last hug before leaving their apartment.

“Don’t do anything stupid until I come back,” he said.

“How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you,” Steve responded.

“Really, I wouldn’t join if I were you. Please stay home Steve. I want to see you again, not your dog tags,” the brunette explained with a concerned expression.

“But I’m approved. I can go start my training later today.”

“Doesn’t mean you should,” Bucky sighed, then patted Steve on the shoulder and left the room, closing the door with a click.

The apartment was suddenly quiet, and Steve couldn’t bare it. He quickly got to work, getting his things in order. His paperwork and files. So what if Bucky didn’t want him to go? He was still going to anyways. 

Not even five minutes later, Steve left the apartment, locking it for the last time in a while. Then, he found a bus to take him to New Jersey.

o0o

(Peggy’s POV)

Peggy watched, alongside Dr. Erskine, and Colonel Chester Phillips, the recruits they were considering for Project: Rebirth. She had to say it was a pathetic bunch. Only a few out of the group were decently strong, one was sickly skinny and she had no clue how he even got approved for training, yet the Doctor had his reasons that she didn’t question.

Overall, she found that American men had no respect for women. First just teasing her on her accent and then not taking her the one bit seriously? They were barely tolerable. She at least got the opportunity to punch one of the arrogant men in their punny face, yet it didn’t do much to let out her frustration. Even Colonel Phillips could barely treat her like an equal. She was an agent, one of their best, and she wanted to be treated like it. 

The tests continued, bringing her to push the German doctor to make a decision. They didn’t have much time to pick a candidate in fear that the Axis would eventually figure out their plan and attack before they had their super solider.

The Colonel kept pointing out different recruits he believed would be perfect for the job. Strong ones, by physical strength, yet the scientist turned each trainee down. Instead, he took an odd interest in the skinny blonde boy. It quite honestly surprised Peggy, the doctor’s approach on the choosing.

“We don’t need a strong man, but a good one,” Dr. Erskine explained, and then took an unarmed grenade out of the back of a truck. Before either Peggy or Colonel Phillips could react to what he was doing, he pulled the pin and then threw it at the trainees who were doing push ups. “Grenade!”

All the men scattered, trying to take cover, while one man grabbed the unexplosive bomb and huddled around it. It was the blonde boy. Peggy watched in shock as he yelled at the others to get back while gripping onto the grenade tightly. 

When it didn’t go off, the blonde stood, looking utterly confused. “Was that a test?” he asked.

“We’ve got our candidate,” the doctor stated, proudly.

***

Peggy found that the boy was the best candidate for Project: Rebirth. He had the kindest heart, and was respectful too. She scratched her prior assumption on American men when she met Steve, not all of them were loudmouth disrespectful idiots. 

She sat in the back seat with him as they drove through Brooklyn, heading to a secret lab underneath an old antique shop. 

“I know this neighborhood,” Steve started, looking out the window. “I got beat up in that alley.”  
They had only driven a few feet forward before he talked again.

“And that parking lot.”

Peggy looked at him a bit confused before looking away. She pitied him, to be honest. A man of his size shouldn’t be getting into fights. 

“Behind that dinner.”  
Now she sucked in a breath. 

“Did you have something against running away?” she asked. No logical man would get into that many fights. She was curious to know the reason.

“You start running, they’ll never let you stop. You stand up, push back. Can’t say no forever, right?” was his response.

And she agreed. He wasn’t wrong, and looking at it like that, she could relate to him in that way. Standing up. If she backed down to any of the men she worked with, well, she wouldn’t have gotten far. Steve may seem stupid to get into those fights, but Peggy was starting to see him as noble.

“I know a little of what that’s like. To have every door shut in your face,” she sympathized.

“I guess I just don’t know why you’d wanna join the army if you’re a beautiful dame,” he added. 

The man should’ve just kept his mouth shut, and they would’v been on perfect terms. She hated when men just assumed things about her based off of her looks. And now Steve had assumed the same. Pitiful really. And she had thought to just think of him as noble? Pft. She nearly scoffed.

She could tell he immediately regretted his response, since he continued to talk and stumble over his words, “Or a beautiful… a woman. An agent, not a dame! You are beautiful but…”

“You have no idea how to talk to women do you?” she asked, putting the blonde out of his embarrassing misery. If she didn’t stop him, she feared he would continue to word vomit until he had surely made a fool out of himself.

He laughed lightly. It was a kind laugh, one that sounded sweet to the ears. 

“I think this is the longest conversation I’ve ever had with one.”

Peggy tried her hardest not to chuckle herself. She could only imagine his childhood. And even his young adulthood. He seemed to be a subject of bullies and a victim to embarrassment and awkwardness. But she had to say he was charming in his own sort of way.

“Women aren’t exactly lining up to dance with a guy they might step on,” Steve continued, while looking down at his thumbs. 

“You must have danced?” the agent asked.

“Well,” he sighed, “asking a woman to dance always seems so terrifying. And the past few years didn’t seem to matter that much. Figured I’d wait.”

“For what?” she asked, genuinely curious.

“The right partner."  
His response was surprising. Everything Peggy found out about Steve was surprising. She smiled lightly at his words. The right partner. He was treating something as simple as dancing almost like marriage. The agent found it quite comical, yet also endearing. The doctor was right to choose him. Just from this conversation, Peggy knew that Steve had a kind heart.

She led him into the antique store, which was really the hidden location of a secret medical lab. After saying the codeword to the owner, they made their way through a series of corridors and into the large workspace.

Everyone looked up, pausing what they were doing for the moment being, with all eyes on Steve. He looked down, with an unreadable expression on his face. She followed his gaze onto the large contraption set in the middle of the room.

He looked to her for direction, and Peggy sucked in a breath, leading him down the stairs and into the main workspace. Multiple doctors, scientists and engineers were on stand by. Dr. Erskine was already waiting, with the “all-famous” Howard Stark by his side.

She watched as they prepped him, laying him down onto the large machine. Already her heart was pounding and her nerves just wouldn’t settle down. Eventually, the doctor took her out of her worried trance.

“Agent Carter? Don’t you think you would be more comfortable in the booth?”

“Oh yes, of course. Sorry,” she responded, heading up the stairs again. Yet she found that she didn’t want to leave Steve’s side. Not with this uncertain question looming overhead. This procedure could kill him, and that was the last thing she wanted. Peggy hated to admit it, but she already had a soft spot for the blonde. Once she had gotten to know him, even if it was from just a short cab-ride, she had began to enjoy his company.

So she watched anxiously, in the booth, as they turned on the power and began to inject the serum. Absentmindedly, her hand rose to her lip as she watched in suspense. After a moment the scientists began to scramble around, saying that he was unstable, that there was high risk. Once she heard Steve’s grunts of agony, she left the booth quickly.

“Turn it off!” she yelled from the platform. She couldn’t bare to think that this would kill him. She hated the idea completely.

“No! I… I can do this!” he grunted. And all she could do was watch as the light coming from the machine turned brighter and brighter. Then… it stopped.

Along with many of the other people from the booth, Peggy made her way down to the lab. The machine opened up, revealing a whole new person. Or at least what looked to be a whole new person. Steve wasn’t skinny or the least bit sickly, but muscular and strong. The agent couldn’t help herself. After he stepped out, she reached out and touched his firm muscular chest. 

Before she could even process what happened, a shot had fired leaving the doctor on the ground, bleeding. No! Peggy reacted quickly, grabbing her own gun and making a mad dash after the criminal.

o0o

(Steve’s POV)

Steve watched Dr. Erskine die. He watched the only man who believed in him die. And suddenly, he was filled with rage. He needed to find that man who had killed him, bring him to justice.

Steve ran outside, just in time to push Peggy out of the street and away from the car that was speeding towards her. What was she thinking? Did she want to get herself killed?

“I had him!” she yelled as the cab barreled by and continued to zoom down the street.

“Sorry!” Steve apologized, then continued running after the car. Immediately he discovered the new strength that had been given through the serum. He could run faster. Much faster. Almost as fast as a speeding car, yet not faster than the car he was chasing.

Knowing that he didn’t want to try to navigate traffic on foot, Steve continued to run down a parallel backroad, tracking the car through alleyways as he went. All concerns about his health, or about how much his body could take faded away. He had to catch that man.

He darted in through traffic, and while trying to keep the yellow taxi in his sight, he tripped up and crashed into a bridal store. Strangely, nothing hurt, and he barely felt the window breaking from the impact. The flying shards didn’t even phase him.

Quickly, he got up again, apologizing for the mess he had caused and made a dash after the speeding car. He leapt over a chained fence without any problems. “Well that was new,” the phrase ran through his mind. Steve nearly crashed into a car, that honked at him annoyed, as he made his way down the street. He was gaining on the cab now, growing closer and closer to the yellow car.

To keep up with the yellow taxi under the crowding of traffic, Steve leapt up onto the roof of a car, jumping from one vehicle to another like they were stepping stones, eventually landing on top of the taxi with a thud. The blonde held on tight as the car swerved. He assumed the driver was trying to throw him off, yet it took more than that to get rid of the Steve.

The man began to shoot through the roof with his gun, causing for Steve to dodge the bullets as they were aimed for him. He successfully dodged each bullet, yet due to nearly crashing with a truck, he was thrown off the car as it tumbled down the road.

The man exited the car, shooting a shot blindly at Steve and causing for bystanders to panic and run. Steve grabbed the car door, attempting to use it as a shield as he watch the man grab a kid. 

No! Steve immediately rushed over. He couldn’t let this man hurt anyone else, never less an innocent boy. He didn’t even feel the pain of his own bullet wound as he chased after the criminal. 

As he crept to the corner, Steve walked towards the man, causing for him to aim the gun at the helpless boy. “No!” he said calmly, holding his hands out. “No, don’t!”

The sickening look of anger on the mans face scared Steve. That man wouldn’t even care if he took that child’s life. Who could be so emotionless? So evil?  
The man then turned his gun to face Steve, making him flinch. Yet he knew he would gladly take the bullet instead of the kid. The kid had so much to live for, Steve was already half grown. 

Quickly, before Steve could barely react, the little boy was thrown into the water below and the man made a dash for it. The super-solider looked down at the kid, who told him to get the guy, informing him that he could swim.

Steve let out a breath of relief as he chased after the murder. The sickly man had jumped into a submarine and was getting away. As if upon instinct, Steve jumped into the water. He didn’t even know how to swim before, yet with his enhancements, he wasn’t surprised that he could swim like a shark. 

The icy cold water barely phased him, and Steve made quick work chasing after the sleek underwater machine, eventually cracking the window open and pulling out the man that was inside.

Without much effort at all, he threw him onto the surface, dodging the given punches aimed at him, and threw a few of his own with a kick. Executing moves that even Natasha would be impressed by. 

He then grabbed the man’s collar. 

“Who the hell are you?” he demanded.

The man looked up at him with an arrogant yet evil smirk. “The first of many. Cut off one head…”

He stopped a moment to crack his back teeth onto a sort of pill. 

“…two more shall take its place.” 

Steve watched in horror as the man’s mouth began to froth with bile. 

“Hail HYDRA,” he finished.

He looked like a rabid dog, white foam lined his mouth and he began to choke. Eventually, after only a moment, he was dead. Leaving Steve with no solid grasp of information.

Only then, did Steve finally look at himself. He was muscular, stronger, different, but only physically. He knew now that he could fight. And by all means, he would. He didn’t know it yet, but he would become an icon. A symbol of hope. He’d become Captain America.

o0o

(Natasha’s POV)

Natasha was working on writing down measurements for a new pattern Mrs. Sokolv needed when hell broke loose. Two police officers enter the store, causing Natasha to look up from her work.

“I’m sorry, we’re closed,” she stated. “Sirs.”

She added the “sirs” just to be safe. The officers didn’t seemed to be in a good mood. And they didn’t seem very friendly either. It made her heart thump loudly in her chest. It was night, nearly nine, and she knew where Mrs. Sokolv was. Her bedroom. Mr. Sokolv was in the makeshift kitchen, making himself some coffee. Their secret corridor was open, if the officers snooped around, they were bound to find out.

They ignored Natasha’s statement and looked around, eventually coming behind the counter where Natasha was attempting to nudge the secret door shut with her toe as she watched them inspect the room.

“Who else is in the building?” the taller policeman, a black haired man, asked her.

“The two owners,” Natasha responded simply.

The officers nodded, looked past Natasha, noticing the doorway.

“Move girl.”

Knowing she couldn’t do anything, she let the policeman by. And the next thing she knew both Mr. and Mrs. Sokolv were being dragged out in handcuffs.

“Your rent is late. And you’re living in a commercial building. How many people are you housing in this building?” the officer asked Mr. Sokolv. He just stayed quiet.

“How many?!” the other officer, a blonde, as impatiently.

Natasha watched, trying to contain her anger. They couldn’t do this! They couldn’t just take them away!

“Only two! Only us!” Mrs. Sokolv explained.

No. Natasha wanted to yell. No! I live here too! Yet the elderly Russian woman gave her a glare that shut her right up.

“So this girl here isn’t your daughter? You’re not housing her as well?” the blonde moved over to where Natasha was standing. He reached for another pair of handcuffs, ready to arrest her as well.

“No. She’s just an employee. She doesn’t know of any of this,” Mrs. Sokolv explained. Natasha watched the elderly woman give her a slight nod. “We’ll be alright” it said.

Natasha couldn’t do anything, she was just frozen in place as the policemen took the Sokolvs away. They took her family away. Mrs. Sokolv was too kind to spare her like that. Far too kind.

“You better get home, ma’am. The landlord will be here shortly to collect all the remaining items. These people haven’t paid the rent in months. They’re evicted and now arrested for using the building as living quarters. You have no more job here.”

That was the last thing they said as they walked out that door. Quickly, as if on auto pilot, Natasha entered her room. It was technically just a roomy closet with a cot in the center. She grabbed her box of things, and dumped out the items. Carefully she placed the most important items into an old tattered bag. There was a necklace: her first steal. A note: one that Alexi had written her all that time ago. And a single photo: one of her as a child that was in her orphanage file.   
No, her parents weren’t in the photo and it wasn’t something cute or memorable about that black and white piece of film. But she kept it because it was a reminder of all she had went through from that moment until now. She wasn’t that helpless girl anymore. Natasha liked that reminder. 

Without wasting another second, she threw in all the dresses and clothes Mrs. Sokolv had made her into the bag as well, then left the shop. Natasha didn’t even care to close the door, just let it hang open in the wind.

She walked a couple blocks until she rounded the corner into a nearby alleyway and stopped. That’s when her tears started flowing. Natasha had tried to keep it in the whole time, yet now the salty wet droplets came flooding out of her eyelids. She couldn’t stop it. The heaviness of the situation finally fell on her. The realization of those words that the officer had spoken came into being. “You have no more job here.” She had no more life there. She had no more family. She had nothing!

Her entire life was crumbling. As she had finally found security, found a life other than being a thief, as she had found a purpose to life other than just surviving, it was all ripped away from her.

No job. No home. No family. No hope. She had absolutely nothing.She wanted to scream, punch, yell and sob all at the same time. Natasha couldn’t trust her legs to carry her any further and she collapsed into the alleyway. A slight drizzle fell from the sky. Small water droplets stuck onto her red curls and began to slightly dampen her dress. What would she do? Steal again? Move from vacant home to vacant home? 

But then something came to her. There was a war being fought. Volunteers were joining. Women volunteers. Even those with little to no experience. They would be given shelter, food, no pay, yet Natasha could live on that.

If she had food and shelter, she could survive. So, she decided, she would volunteer for the war.

o0o

(Peggy’s POV)

They returned to the base in New Jersey. There were still a few more men that needed to be trained at the camp, so she and Steve as well as Colonel Phillips returned to the training base. 

While Steve was being made into a publicity symbol, being put into movies, shows and plastered on posters. Peggy had gotten to work on actual plans. She was filtering through enlisted men’s files when something caught her eye. More of a someone.

A girl with auburn red hair had entered the office, wearing a knee high cream color dress that had patterned red flowers dotted all over. She handed a file to a secretary, and then waited.

Peggy watched as a man, one she had never seen before, walked slyly by and patted the redhead’s arse. Immediately, Peggy was enraged. Not like she could do much about it, she had her fair share of the harassment, yet she never wanted any other woman to go through the same treatment. 

Evidently, the red head wasn’t please either. The young woman had turned on the man and backhanded him hard. He looked at her stunned.

“Yeah, think twice before hitting my ass,” she spat, then once he wouldn’t leave, punched him in the face for good measure. The man winced away, exiting the office and leaving a stunned secretary looking at the girl like she was some sort of alien.

Peggy knew immediately that this girl was something else. Perhaps a valuable asset? She decided to make her introduction as the redhead sat in one of the chairs.

“Hello. What are you here for, miss?” she asked.

“Volunteer work,” the woman responded.

Perfect.

“I’m Agent Carter. Though most call me Peggy,” she held her hand out to shake.

The redhead did, shifting an old bag onto her other arm.

“Natasha Romanoff,” she responded, kindly.

“You can defend yourself nicely. I’ve had enough of the women who signed up as secretaries just to flirt with the soldiers. I need more agents, people that will work with me. Plus, having another fellow lady on the team will make my life more bearable. The main thing I’ve learned from my job is that I can’t stand men who think they’re that much better than you,” Peggy explained. “So, can you shoot a gun?”

“Yes, miss. Learned how at 14,” Natasha responded.

Peggy looked at her with an odd expression. Why in the world would a fourteen year old need to learn how to use a gun? She hadn’t until she was twenty, and that was last year. 

“Oh, I grew up in Russia,” the redhead added.

That still didn’t clear much, and Peggy was confused on how the woman’s nationality would relate to anything.

“Well, if you’re up for it, I can check in with the officials and see if they’re willing to let me train you. A good woman in combat should be something they won’t turn down. We need all the best agents we can get, yet it may take some convincing for some more than others,” Peggy sighed.

“It’s understandable. There’s nothing keeping me here, anything I can do, let me know,” Natasha replied with a kind smile.

“I look forward to working with you, Natasha.”

“Much the same to you, Agent Carter.”


	5. The Rescue (part 1)

(General Narrator)

About a month had passed. Steve was disappointed that he still hadn’t seen a battlefield or engaged in any sort of combat, yet delivering inspiring speeches to the American people wasn’t that bad. It was most definitely an odd feeling to go from being the person people picked on to being a man with great respect.

But Steve didn’t change at heart. That was something the doctor told him, to never change his heart. His appearance might seem different, but it was still Steve’s soul that was inside the American Hero.

Meanwhile, as Steve was traveling the states, Peggy was given permission to train Natasha. She was a quick learner. Within a week, Natasha was already on top of military terms, and in three she could easily follow a strategical plan for a mission and follow orders through. Plus, when one of the Lieutenants said they needed a spy, Natasha didn’t hesitate to fill the role. 

She knew that spying was similar to pit pocketing. You watched, observed, fit in with your surroundings perfectly and had to move undetected. Becoming invisible was a crucial skill to both stealing and spying, so Natasha soon became one of the top spies in the OSS. Not to mention the fact that she knew multiple languages and could fake as well as mask any accent was a valuable asset. They had already sent her to both France, Poland and Great Britain for several missions, where she had successfully collected intel.

Even Colonel Phillips was impressed and informed Peggy of his satisfaction. In the meantime, Peggy had participated mostly in the “behind-the-scenes” bits. She monitored the different battles being fought in Europe, as well as began assessing different strategies for their plan of attack. Of course, certain military officials took her advice and work more seriously than others, but in general she had earned a mutual respect with the other high ranking men.

Bucky, on the other hand, was already in battle, being a Sergeant of the 107th Infantry Regiment. He had led multiple successful attacks, though every time he lost a man in battle it hurt him. So much loss. But his job forced him to push away the guilt of the casualties and continue fighting. That was until half of his battalion was taken prisoner, him included. Now, he had no hope of seeing anybody he loved again. Not with a mad scientist using him as a test guinea pig. 

Over the course of the days, Bucky thought of Steve, if he was safe. He thought of his sister Rebecca, how she was doing. How she looked now, probably all grown up. And he thought of Natasha too. He should’ve asked for her address. He should’ve written to her. 

But no, Bucky had a feeling he would most likely die alone in this HYDRA building. He had little to no hope left, and was already tired of being tested on. Half of himself wanted the scientist, Zola, to just kill him already. The other half of himself wanted to live. He wanted to live for the ones he cared about, the ones he loved. The latter reason won out, so Bucky still fought.

o0o

(Steve’s POV)

It was a tough crowd to say the least. Nothing he said could inspire these men. After his speech was over, one that he had announced multiple times in multiple states, there was some booing, some throwing of random objects and calls from the soldiers that they wanted to see the girls dancing again.

Steve got off the stage, feeling both embarrassed and let down. That’s all he was, just a speaker, a fraud. He had only fought one fight since he became this “Captain America” , and he felt like he wasn’t doing enough.

As he sat down underneath a tent, sketching as the rain dripped and dropped in the background, a voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Red, white and blue? Really? You look ridiculous in that thing. The letter jacket helps, but…”  
Steve looked up to see a familiar redhead looking down at him.

“Natasha?”

She gave him a smirk, then sat down next to him. She was wearing a uniform similar to the one Steve had seen Peggy wear, an army green skirt and suit-like jacket, with a white dress shirt. She had no tie or pins, unlike Peggy’s outfit, but a unique golden broach, that looked like an oddly shaped spade, was pinned above her heart. The redhead didn’t look much different, maybe just a bit more mature, yet she still styled her red hair the same, with loose curls that reached her shoulder (only her hair was bit longer now).

“Surprised to see me?” she quipped.

“What’re you doing here? Are you…?” he asked, standing up now. He didn’t know if he should hug her or shake her hand, so he just did nothing. The serum didn’t cure his awkwardness, that was for sure.

“What? The uniform doesn’t give it away?” she scoffed then looked him up and down. “And you have certainly changed.”

“Less than you think. Still can’t talk to a woman for the life of me, as you can tell,” he said while rubbing the back of his neck. Then he cleared his throat and asked another question. “When did you get here? To Austria?”

“I’ve been all over Europe for missions, but this is my first day here in Austria, came in this morning.”

“Missions? What’s your post?” he eyed the broach.

“Now that, is classified information, solider,” she stated with a joking smile. 

By then Peggy had joined the two. She looked at them, questioningly, before speaking.

“You know each other?” she asked. She had an odd expression on her face, one that Steve thought even looked a bit… jealous? Peggy was jealous?

“Saved his ass once. When he got into a fight he knew he couldn’t win,” Natasha explained with a smirk. 

Steve couldn’t help it, his face flushed. Peggy nodded, her face solemn and her voice returning to its “Agent Carter no-nonsense” tone.

“Sorry about the tough crowd, but you have to sympathize for them. They’re all that remains of the 107th.”

“Wait,” Steve looked at Peggy alarmed. “The 107th Infantry Regiment?”

“Yes,” Peggy relayed. “The rest were either killed or captured.”

“Bucky’s in that battalion,” Steve muttered under his breath, causing Natasha to flash a look of worry over her features.

Soon enough Steve was marching into Colonel Phillips tent with Natasha and Peggy on his heels. 

“I need a list. I need to know if a man is alive,” Steve stated.

“Slow down solider. I have many people asking the same request I…”

“This is important,” he interrupted the Colonel.

The older man sighed, then flipped through a book. “Name?”

“James Buchanan Barnes.”

Steve held his breath, ignoring the look Natasha gave him while hearing Bucky’s real name. He had to be alright. He had to be.

“I’m sorry, son. He’s one of the captured. Nothing we can do,” the Colonel explained.

“No, we can go back. We can rescue them,” the captain argued.

“The HYDRA base is too deep into the Austrian Alps, and it’s heavily guarded. It would be a suicide mission. I can’t risk any more men.”

“But there’s men captured in that base. Are you saying they’re not worth it?” he asked, his face downright desperate.

“I’m saying, logically, we can’t go back for them. Looking at how many we’d have to sacrifice for the few? It doesn’t make sense to try,” the official shook his head, then went back to work.

Steve stormed out of the tent. He wouldn’t abandon Bucky like that. He wouldn’t abandon any of those men like that, Captain America title or not. He was going to do anything to get these men back. 

o0o

(Natasha’s POV)

Bucky, or James, was captured. Immediately, a breath caught in her throat and a sickening feeling filled her stomach. And when the Colonel said he wouldn’t go back for them? That they were as good as gone? That only made Natasha’s heart sink even further.

She tried not to get close to him, tried to ignore the evident feelings she had for the brunette, yet her heart seemed to win out. And now she was left with a feeling of guilt, fear and sorrow mixed in her soul.

Steve left the tent in a rush, evident rage and annoyance in his features. Within the time of her training and through the course of her missions, Natasha learned how to read people quite easily. And she knew Steve wasn’t going to just sit and let Bucky get tortured in a HYDRA camp. No, that solider, or captain, was certainly going to do something about it. 

She followed the blonde into his tent, and she must’ve been quiet on foot because he jumped in surprise when he saw her inside his quarters.

“I know you’re not going to just ignore this and follow orders. It may be against protocol, but I’m in,” she stated.

“That’s not enough, we’re going to need a plane at least,” Steve said. “And equipment.”

Natasha just scoffed. “Believe me Steve, I can get this all sorted out in ten minutes. What do you need for this?”

“Maps, a plane, some guns, and whatever you think would be needed for this type of attack? I’ve never done this before Natasha,” he sighed.

“Good thing I have,” she huffed and left the room.

“You did what?” he yelled after her, but Natasha was already out of the tent, walking across the camp to the engineering sector. First, she would work on getting them a plane. With Howard Stark, that wouldn’t be a problem.

o0o

(Peggy’s POV)

No, Peggy wasn’t jealous. Okay, maybe a bit jealous. It was hard for her to contain, alright? Natasha was a pretty girl and seeing her talk to Steve in such a familiar way almost got her worked up. Because Peggy was beginning to see Steve as much more than a friend. She found that she had feelings for the blonde.

But how he and the spy talked? It almost seemed like flirting, right? Was it flirting? Were they together or? No, Steve would’ve mentioned it to her in his oversharing rambles, but still, these thoughts coursed through Peggy’s mind.

And then after the Colonel gave Steve a firm “no” on going back for the captured men, and watching Natasha follow Steve back to his tent, into his tent, it made her wonder. Was there something between these two? Would they act on it? Peggy still didn’t know, but if Natasha made Steve happy. If she was his “right partner”, then she would have to live with it. And Peggy was fine with that, but she couldn’t help but want to be the one Steve cared for.

A few moments later, the redhead left the tent, heading towards the engineer sector. Peggy followed, outright curious of what the spy was up to. She had a feeling it had to do with the captured, yet the spies never really could conduct missions of their own but follow orders. Plus rescuing wasn’t exactly in Natasha’s skill set, at least the one that Peggy had trained her in. There were so many different aspects in a rescue mission compared to an infiltration or a basic collection of intel. If the girl was even thinking about doing something like that, she could risk her job. And her life for the matter.

She followed her into Mr. Stark’s workshop. What in the world did the woman want with Stark? That itself was a blaring question.

“Natasha, lovely to see you,” Peggy heard Howard say as she neared closer and closer to the door.

“I need something, your help, actually,” she heard Natasha respond as she put her hand on the handle of the door.

“Anything for you darling,” the engineer responded.

Peggy entered to hear Natasha scoff and was standing in an offensive stance, her arms crossed. She watched the redhead roll her eyes, then turn her focus onto Peggy.

“Whatever you're going to do, don’t do it. You know you have an obligation to follow orders, Natasha,” she interrupted.

“Marvelous, two beautiful dames, all here to see me?” Howard asked, half joking.

“Shut it, Stark,” both women said at the same time. In any other circumstance they would’ve laughed about the jinx, yet instead they stared each other down.

“These are people that need our help. Peggy, you can’t ignore them. I have no missions in the next week, at least that I know of. I have time, and I can help,” the spy explained.

“Really? All just out of the goodness of your heart or is it so you can impress Steve?” Peggy shot back.

That earned her a shocked and surprised look from the redhead. “What? You think I’m doing this is for him? No. It just happens to be that he wants to do the same thing. And what about you? I see how you look at him, I am a spy, Peggy.”  
“Here, I’m just gonna…” Howard said, backing away and out of the room.

“No, like I said I needed your help. Stay for my request,” Natasha said, causing for the genius to just stand in his place, trying to still give the two ladies space.

“And what is that? The request?” Peggy asked, with a slight glare.

“I just need basic gear, weapons, a plane and some maps of the terrain. It’ll be enough to suffice for this. All lightweight, we don’t want to bring any attention onto ourselves.”

“Ourselves?” Peggy inquired.

“Yes, I assumed once you actually talk this over with Steve, you’ll be in on the plan,” Natasha explained to Peggy, then turned her attention back onto Stark. “From you, I need a plane.”  
“On it,” he said quickly, then left the room.

Peggy began to leave as well, ready to ask Steve about his plan. Maybe she should help, even if there was consequences. 

“And Peggy?” 

That caused for the Englishwoman to turn.

“There’s nothing between Steve and I. Never has, never will. We’re good friends, that’s all. I, personally, see him as more of a little brother.” Natasha laughed lightly at the notion. And Peggy assumed the “little brother” view was from when he was the Steve from the pre-serum. 

“And why does that concern me?” she asked, her voice serious.

“I think we both know why.” The redhead finished with an understanding smile, then left the room. Probably to collect weapons, no doubt.

o0o

(Steve’s POV)

Steve was just finishing up backing up a small bag when he heard Peggy’s voice.

“Steve? Can I come in?” she asked from outside the tent flap. At least she had asked, unlike Natasha who had just barged in.

“Of course,” he said, putting down his pack and untying the flaps so she could enter. It was still raining outside, even worse than before. Her brown tightly curled hair was slightly damp, and some droplets still adorned the top of her head. He began to wonder if her hair was naturally curly, or not.

“I know your plan,” she sighed.

Steve looked at her surprised, and a flash of panic probably crossed his face, because the woman laughed lightly. It was breathy and sweet, yet was weighted by the obvious elephant in the room.

“It’s alright, I won’t tell the colonel, I just wanted to make sure… you’re…” she took a breath, “you’re sure you want to follow this through. They’ll be repercussions, I know it. Some consequences too.”

“Who gave it away? Natasha?” he asked.

Peggy just shook her head. “You really thought I wouldn’t find out? And that doesn’t matter. I need to know you are 100% sure you want to do this, Steve. It’s dangerous.”  
And that’s when Steve realized why she didn’t want him to go, not because she didn’t want to rescue these men either, she did. But she didn’t want to loose him. Even the idea that he mattered at all to her, shocked Steve.

“Yes, I’m sure. If I don’t who will? This needs to be done, Peg,” he explained, hoping she wouldn’t slap him on the spot for giving her a nickname. She didn’t. Instead her expression softened.

“Then I’m going with you.”

“What? No, you…”

“Hurry up you two! Howard’s waiting on the tarmac,” Natasha interrupted from outside of the tent, while knocking on it to get their attention. The sound of thick raindrops sliding down the sides of the tarp-like material filled Steve’s ears.

“We’ll be there in a moment,” Peggy responded, not taking her eyes off of Steve.

They both heard the sound of Natasha’s boots slug away in the mud, and once she was out of earshot did Peggy speak again.

“Here, I thought you may need these,” she handed him a small pistol, a helmet and the shield he had used for his presentations.

“Thanks,” he gave her a smile, then reached for his bag.

“No need, the less things you’ve got, the better.”

Steve nodded, then followed Peggy out of the tent and into the rain.


	6. The Rescue (part 2)

(Peggy’s POV)

Peggy gave the four of them the run down, with Howard in the pilot’s seat and everyone else in the main cabin. She had a map laid in her lap with certain locations circled and underlined.

“The HYDRA camp is in Kreischberg, between these two mountain ranges,” she explained. “It’s a factory of some kind.”

“Should be able to drop you off right at their doorstep,” Howard explained from the front of the plane.

“Just get me as close as you can,” Steve responded. Already Peggy’s nerves wouldn’t settle. Just dropping him off? Not even knowing if he would be alright? Not even being there for back-up incase anything happened? That scared her.

“You three will be in a lot of trouble when you land,” Steve stated.

“Who said you were going alone?” Natasha remarked.

All eyes turned to her, even Howard looked back at her from the cockpit. There was silence for a moment before Peggy spoke.

“No, absolutely not. It’s already worse enough with Steve going.”

“And you don’t know how to use a parachute,” Steve added.

“That’s the most ridiculous excuse. Have you ever used a parachute before Steve?” Natasha scoffed.

“Well, no, I…” 

“Exactly.”

Peggy just sighed. She couldn’t let Natasha go, if her superiors found out…

“I can’t let you go Nat, your ranks won’t allow it. Wait until Colonel Phillips hears that I let one of our best spies go on a rogue mission? What if you die in combat from it? People are counting on you for the future,” she explained.

Steve looked from Peggy to Natasha, then landed his gaze on the redhead, fully confused.

“You’re a spy?” he asked, yet it wasn’t spoke with any sort of excitement or shock, more with a hurt tone. Peggy realized that Natasha hadn’t told him. She wasn’t exactly supposed to, only a limited of people knew her true rank, but she assumed Steve would be one of the few.

“Yes, which is why I can do this. Peggy, I’ve trained for this. Remember Łomża? Wasn’t initially a rescue but I adjusted to the situation. And you know I’ve done infiltrations before,” Natasha gave her a begging look, and immediately Peggy knew there was something she wasn’t telling her. More-of, someone. Yet she let it slide and nodded solemnly.

“Whatever mess you get into when you come back, you’ll be the one to take care of it,” she stated in her “Agent Carter” tone.

“Yes, ma’am,” Natasha responded, hooking on a parachute. She stood up, arming herself with two small pistols and a military rifle. She tied her hair back into a tight bun, yet some loose strands still framed her face. Then put on a helmet of her own. Of course she had brought one, Peggy through to herself.

Instead of pointing it out, she just continued to give instructions, “This is your transponder. Activate it when you’re ready and the signal will lead us straight to you.”

“Are you sure this thing works?” Steve asked. Natasha shrugged and Peggy just sighed.

“I’ve tested it more than you’ve, pal,” Stark replied.

Promptly, the sound of bullets flying by the plane caused it to shake, making Peggy nearly jump in her seat. She still hadn’t gotten used to flying during war times.

Natasha stood up from her seat and headed towards the door, opening it up.

“What do you think you’re doing? We’re going to take you the full way there!” Peggy yelled over the commotion.

“Unless we get blown to bits in the process! It’s too risky for you, we have to drop down, now,” Natasha explained.

Steve followed her towards the door. 

“As soon as we’re through, turn this thing around and get the hell out of here!” Steve told Peggy. Before she could even open her mouth to argue Natasha spoke again.

“Listen to the man, Peggy,” she said with a glare. Peggy had known that glare from Natasha, it mean she was serious and left no room for argument.

“You can’t give me orders, neither of you,” she added.

“The hell I can,” Steve yelled over the noise. “I’m a captain.”

Natasha stifled a laugh, but once she felt Peggy’s glare she became serious. 

“See you in a minute, agent,” Natasha saluted jokingly, then jumped out of the plane. 

“What she said,” Steve added, then placed his goggles over his eyes and jumped as well.

All Peggy could do as she watched the two open their parachutes was pray that they’d be alright.

“I’m surprised you didn’t go with them,” Howard scoffed.

Peggy just rolled her eyes, then sighed, “You heard the captain, turn this thing around.”

o0o

(Natasha’ POV)

The landing wasn’t rough. Not as bad as she thought it would be anyhow. And she was incredibly thankful for her leather coat that, for now, sheltered her from the rain.

Steve wasn’t far behind, only touching down a few seconds later a couple feet away. Natasha had already ditched her parachute and folded it into an attempted square, then placed it near the roots of a large bush. If somebody had found that sort of evidence only a mile or so away from the base, they would become suspicious. Suspicion was the last thing they needed, better to have the element of surprise.

But Natasha could tell Steve hadn’t done something like this before, making her wonder why Peggy would even think of letting him go alone. He hadn’t even taken any care to his parachute and was clumsily still trying to get out of it.

“You unhook it like this,” Natasha released the second buckle that was on the underside of the harness.

“Thanks,” Steve sighed, then watched as she refolded his chute and placed it in a bush next to her own.

They began to trek the terrain, heading towards the large building in the distance. For the most part their walk was silent, allowing Natasha to gauge an idea of how much activity was around, and how many guards would be posted by the gates. Surprisingly, this base didn’t have any further checkpoints or guards monitoring the forest; so until they reached the gate, they were in the clear. 

“So you’re a spy then?” Steve asked after a moment, following her lead.

“Yes, you better not tell anyone,” she responded curtly.

“No, no, no. I wouldn’t… I know…”

“I was joking,” she gave him a smile, looking over her shoulder.

Once again there was a silence, almost an awkward one until Steve once again filled it with a question.

“Why’re you here? Why’d you insist to jump out of a plane and infiltrate this base?”

“What, and let you have all the fun?” Natasha scoffed while stepping over a log. She was more than grateful she wore the pair of pants she had made with some extra material (that Peggy supplied) on this trip. All the men’s ones were too long for he legs and too wide for her waist. Plus their crotch was made too large to seem natural on her form. And even to think of trekking this terrain in a skirt? That would be a nightmare. She knew a pair of pants would come in handy. 

“I just think there may be another reason,” Steve shrugged.

Natasha already felt a blush come over her. It was quite obvious what Steve was hinting at: Bucky. She did care for him. Maybe more than she should. And knowing that she could do something, help him in any sort of way, and not just wait around for the men to take care of it? (no offense to Steve). That helped settle her nerves. And helped her feel less helpless. She wouldn’t let anyone just take another person she was close to out of her life, not again. Not when every other time she couldn’t do a thing about it. Possibly it was that fear, the fear of loosing Bucky too, that drove her to jump out of that plane. Natasha still couldn’t pinpoint the full reason.

She could say though, it wasn’t just Bucky she was worried about, but Steve too. He hadn’t done anything like this before. Sure, he had the serum on his side. But strength with no plan won’t get you anywhere. 

“We’re here,” Natasha whispered once they reached a road.

“How’ll we get in?” Steve asked. “I can’t fight them all.”

Of course you can’t, Natasha thought in her head, but just rolled her eyes instead of making the remark. 

“We’ll catch a ride, that’s what we’ll do,” she whispered back instead, then crouched down near the edge of the road.

“What?” 

Before Steve could even get the full question out of his mouth, Natasha had made her way into the street, ran after one of the trucks and jumped into the trunk.

She didn’t even wait for Steve to follow, but began fighting the guards that were present. Three against one wasn’t very beneficial to her, and she struggled to keep up with their punches.

“Don’t move,” one said, and she felt the barrel of a gun dig into her forehead. Right then, Steve jumped into the back, threw a quick set of punches, then threw all three of them out off the truck in one smooth motion. 

“Thanks,” she sighed, now sitting in one of the vacant seats.

“Maybe tell me your plans before you go straight into action next time,” he retorted.

“I had it covered.”

“Yeah, right.”

Natasha only laughed lightly in return.

o0o

(Steve’s POV)

How in the world was she just so brave like that? Steve couldn’t help but wonder. Did this girl have no nerves whatsoever? It seemed like she had already thought up a plan and was putting it into motion, meanwhile Steve’s best bet was just to make it up as he went along.

And even after almost getting shot, if he hadn’t made it in time, she was still laughing halfheartedly, like usual.

“Well, do you,” he asked as the trucks entered the gate. Now he was whispering, just incase. 

She just gave him a confused expression.

“Have a plan?” he finished.

She rolled her eyes. “Of course.”

“Well, now may be a good time to fill me in,” Steve responded.

She sighed. “Where they’re keeping the prisoners is adjacent from the weaponry warehouse. They have guards present twenty-four seven. Many of them. We have to knock them out silently, without guns. The gunshots are too loud.”  
The truck eventually backed up until it stopped.

“And after…”  
“Just follow my lead,” she said quickly. The truck stopped suddenly, and a guard opened the back flap of the trunk.

Steve hit the man’s head, hard, with his shield, then jumped out of the truck with Natasha following shortly behind.

“Like that?” he asked.

“Something like that,” she muttered under her breath as they continued walking in a hurried pace. 

They snuck between tanks, and crates of weaponry until they approached a large building. 

“This it?” Steve questioned, looking through the window of a door.

“Let’s hope,” Natasha stated, then kneeled onto the ground.

“What’re…? We don’t have time for whatever you’re doing, Natasha!” Steve hissed. She was rifling through her pockets until she found something that looked like a pin and then focused on the knob.

“This is a basic cylinder lock, nothing fancy. I’m honestly surprised they're using it,” she explained and only a second later did it click open. Steve just stood there, a bit shocked. Where had she learned this? 

“See? A few seconds for a quieter entrance isn’t that bad of a trade, is it?”

She then opened the door, and entered. Her hand was hovering just over her coat pocket, ready to reach for her gun if she needed it. Steve just hand his shield out and ready.

“Where next?” he asked after a moment.

“I only act like I know everything, Rogers,” she whispered back to him, then nodded to the right. “This way.”  
Steve this time took the lead, and he could just imagine the redhead behind him rolling her eyes. He knocked on the locked door in front of him, they had no time to pick every door they came to.

“Steve what’re you…”

A guard opened the door and Steve quickly banged the man’s head between the metal door and the frame. He gave Natasha a look and waited for her direction. She just shrugged and gave him the right away. 

The two of them quickly made their way across the warehouse. Steve now assumed they had picked the wrong one since it was filled with weapons of all sorts. As he passed by a table, he watched Natasha observing everything around them, her eyes roamed the scene that played before the two. Then, something caught her attention and she quickly zip-zagged her course to a table.

A few detonator bombs were present. She picked a couple up, put it in her pocket and then handed a few to him. Did he not mention before that she always seemed to have a plan? He probably would’ve just passed these weapons by!

Steve was already noticing that there was a lot he could learn from her. Just from the way she walked, light on her feet, silently. She blended in like a ghost, every movement calculated while (if spotted) he would stand out like a sore thumb.

They eventually found themselves in a prison hold. People were kept in cylindrical cages, many of them.

“This is it,” Steve muttered.

Natasha nodded, yet her focus was on something else. She scanned the area. Steve followed her gaze that was focus on one of the main guards. She took a pistol out of her pocket, one he hadn’t seen before. It was smaller, and fully black too. That’s when he saw it, the HYDRA symbol branded on the barrel.

She quickly aimed and pulled the trigger. There was no gunshot, no sound at least, and the guard fell to the ground. Probably dead.

He looked at her, surprised. When had she taken that? He hadn’t even noticed! She looked at him confused, probably from his expression, then handed him a pistol of the same kind.

“Let’s go,” she said, then made her way down from their post and towards the prisoners. 

With just a few shots, Steve watched as Natasha executed the rest of the guards in the room. Then she made her way down towards the prisoners. The men stood up, and look at both Steve and Natasha.

Steve stayed and grabbed the keys from the guard’s lifeless body, while the redhead kept watch at the door.

She gave him a nod, letting him know they were in the clear.

“Who’re you supposed to be?” one of the men asked.

“I’m Captain America,” he responded. 

“I beg your pardon?”

Steve ignored him, and found the staircase that led down to the locked gates. One by one, he opened each cell until everyone was freed.

“Steve!” he heard Natasha call across the room. It caused everyone to turn a head her way. Probably due to the fact that her voice was distinctly feminine. “We don’t have much time. Bucky isn’t here.”  
No. Immediately panic rose and he looked back at he redhead worriedly.

“Could be somewhere else, I’ll start searching,” she responded to his face full of worry.

“No, wait,” Steve then turned his attention back onto the group of prisoners he had let out. “The tree-line is northwest, 80 yards past the gate. Get out fast and get ahead. I’ll meet you guys out in the clearing with anybody else I find.”

“Wait,” a voice asked, causing Steve to turn back to the crowd. “You know what you’re doing?”

“Yeah,” he shrugged. “I’ve knocked out Adolf Hitler over 200 times.”  
He then made a sprint to where Natasha was waiting by the door.

“Finally,” she muttered.

“Let’s go find Bucky.”

o0o

(Bucky’s POV)

His head was fuzzy. This last round of tests had left him questioning… everything. He mumbled incoherently, trying to get his head to focus on something, anything, but looking at a ceiling for two days didn’t really help his brain become centered. But then… something did.

“Steve! He’s here!” he heard a voice exclaim. Wait? He knew that voice. Where? Who?

“Bucky…”

He heard it again, and he forced his eyes to focus on the subject who was now untying him from the table.

“God, what did they do to you?”

He recognized that face. Those emerald green eyes. The wisp of red hair that fell from a helmet. A helmet?

“Natasha?” he asked, now feeling her hands help him sit up. Everything was coming back now, and the room came back into focus.

“Yeah, I’m here,” she responded, her lips formed a sad smile and her eyes gave a similar expression to match it. Was this a dream? How was she here?

He didn’t even notice Steve was in the room until he felt himself being embraced into a hug, causing Natasha to step away. He helped him stand until Bucky could radian his balance.

“I thought you were dead,” he breathed, obviously shaken.

“I thought you were smaller,” Bucky responded.

He heard Natasha stifle a laugh, which grabbed his attention onto her. So she wasn’t just a dream or a figment of his imagination. 

“And I thought you were back in New York.”

“Well, we’re all full of surprises aren’t we?” she quipped, causing Bucky to smile. It was like a natural reaction at this point.

They all heard a blast coming from outside and looked around the room expectantly. Another followed.

“Maybe we should get going,” Steve sighed, and held onto Bucky as he limped his way down the hallway, with Natasha following right behind.

“What happened to you?” Bucky asked again.

“I joined the army,” Steve responded.

o0o

(Natasha’s POV)

The booms were explosions. That’s what all three of them found out once they exited the hallway. The majority of the warehouse was already blown to shreds. And then… then there was another obstacle in their way.

“Captain America! So exciting!” a man called from across the bridge. It caused all of them to stop in their tracks.

All Natasha wanted to do was try to drag Steve away. This man was clearly stalling, hoping to distract Steve into going up with the whole inferno. Yet with just one mention of Dr. Erskine, he was already half way across the bridge.

Immediately Steve threw a punch. Natasha and Bucky could only watch as the HYDRA official became enraged. He quickly began to fight Steve, almost like he was a super-solider himself. He landed a few good punches, disarming Steve and knocking him onto the ground.

Quickly, Natasha fired a few shots at the infuriated man. One of the bullets eventually hitting him. He scrambled towards Steve, his foot on the super-solider’s chest.

“Shoot again, I kick him into the fire,” he explained, causing Natasha to put her gun away.

“Good girl,” he smirked up at her. The endearment coming from his mouth gave her shivers, not the good kind, yet she tolerated it since it gave Steve the opportunity to get back up on his feet. 

He threw another punch at the HYDRA man, causing him to stumble back, yet before Steve could advance again, a short little man pulled a lever, separating the bridges once more.

“There was one thing the man didn’t tell you. You see I was his greatest success,” he began, and pulled off a layer of skin, leaving him bald and red. 

“You don’t have one of those, do you?” Bucky asked, jokingly. 

Steve didn’t respond, just looked on in horror.

“You are deluded, Captain,” he continued on. “You pretend to be a simple solider, but in reality, you are just afraid to admit that we have left humanity behind. Unlike you, I embrace it proudly, without fear.”

“Then how come you’re running?” Steve responded.

Natasha looked at their surroundings. If they didn’t leave now they would burn with this place, certainly die. The man was stalling, Steve just couldn’t resist.

The red man didn’t respond, just closed the elevator door off.   
“Steve we have to leave, before we go up with the place,” she finally spoke what she had been thinking for three whole minutes.

“Up here,” Steve pointed at a metal beam that was a flight of stairs away.

Natasha followed, with Bucky right behind her. They reached the top and Steve motioned for her to go first. She shook her head.

“You are the lightest, won’t cause any damage to it,” he reasoned.

“Which is why I should go last,” she shot back.

“No, you go first,” Bucky agreed with Steve.

“But…”

“Go,” Bucky urged her, and she gave in. Carefully, she made her way across the beam, trying to go as fast as she could without falling. The explosions made the bar shake, and she had nearly lost her balance, twice. Yet eventually, she found solid ground (as solid as it could get) on the other side.

Once she had made it across, Steve had Bucky go next.

“Your turn.”

Bucky opened his mouth to protest, but Steve gave him a curt nod to shut him up.

“I said, your turn.”

The brunette nodded, and then made his way across the beam. The amount of time he took was antagonizing. The beam rumbled, and when another explosion hit, the whole bar slid down, just holding on barley by its hinges. Natasha let out a slight gasp, yet they didn’t hear it over the loud booms (thankfully). 

Another explosion and then another, causing the beam to slide down fully. He wasn’t going to make it! Natasha reached out, and just in the nick of time, grabbed his hand before he could plummet into the flames below.

“I’ve got you,” she said, breathlessly. It took a good amount of strength to pull him up from that angle, but she did it.

“Thanks,” he sighed, laying on the platform in exhaustion. Natasha started to pull away, but realized Bucky’s hand was still clasped onto her own. Bucky too seemed to noticed suddenly, both their eyes stared at their hands for a second before they let go quickly, and returned their focus onto Steve.

The beam was gone and he was trapped on the over side of the platform. They looked at each other, Steve’s eyes found both Natasha’s and Bucky’s as they tried to figure out what to do.

“We’ll find a rope or something,” Bucky yelled across the distance.

“Just go! Get out of here!” Steve yelled back. 

Natasha shook her head, while Bucky continued to protest. “No! Not without you!”  
Steve looked around, as if trying to search the exploding warehouse for answers. Then he bent back one of the metal railings and backed up.

“No…” Natasha breathed. “He’s not gonna…"  
“Hold onto me!” Bucky responded.

Natasha grabbed onto Bucky’s shirt as Steve made the leap. He just barely reached Bucky’s hand, and was still dangling over the edge.

“Pull!” Bucky yelled.

Easy for you to say, Natasha thought in her head as she grunted, putting all her weight into her back heels. The pull on Bucky’s shirt gave him the momentum to stand upright again, and therefore pull Steve up with him.

Once Steve was over the railing, they looked down at the inferno below them. All the remains of HYDRA were gone, from this base at least. But just by the “Red Skull’s” escape, the fight was far from over.

“It would’ve been easier to pull you up if you were still 95 pounds,” Bucky laughed while ruffling Steve’s hair.

“Yeah, well, my jumping skills weren’t that good then,” Steve shrugged.

“It’s good to see you.”

“You too, Buck.”  
Natasha smiled at the two, and their reunion. Family, brothers back together again. It both warmed but also pained her heart. She didn’t notice that Bucky was talking to her until she heard her name.

“What’re you doing here?” he asked as they began walking down the platform.

“She’s a spy,” Steve explained, causing Natasha to send a sharp glare his way.

“What? Figured you’d tell him,” he shrugged.

“Yes, by that mean I tell him, not you,” she scoffed.

“But really? You? A spy?” he asked, as he walked by her side.

“What? Doubt my skill set?” Natasha asked with a sly grin.

“Oh, never,” he responded.

“Good,” she responded.

“Of course, I had never pinned you for the ‘sit still and look pretty’ type,” he muttered under his breath, just loud enough for her to hear. “Too strong for that. But still beautiful as ever.”

Just his breath caressing her ear was enough to send tingles down her spine, and suddenly her cheeks flushed, though not from the settling fires they were passing by (though that could be a decent excuse).

“But I had always pinned you as a ‘flirty’ type. A smooth talker,” she responded.

“Yeah? Before or after you became a spy?”

“I knew when I saw you watching me fight in that alleyway.” 

“Just kiss already, darn it!” Steve complained, only a few feet ahead of them. 

That caused Bucky to shy away, and Natasha to jab Steve in the elbow.

“Could say the same about you and Peggy,” she snapped, then continued to walk ahead, leaving both boys in her wake.

“Steve, who’s Peggy?” Bucky asked with a smirk on his face.

“Shut up,” Steve mumbled back.

Natasha sighed, a light smile on her face. But the butterflies that fluttered in her stomach from just talking with Bucky wouldn’t settle down. From just talking! What had become of her? 

‘You can’t love him,’ her mind told herself. ‘You can’t get close to him.’ But her heart had other ideas, and Natasha was beginning to think maybe she should follow it instead. 

o0o

(Peggy’s POV)

Nothing. He hadn’t signaled. Neither Natasha or him. And if they were hiding out, on the run for some reason, Peggy new Natasha would’ve signaled. A wave of guilt but also loss washed over her. Why had she let them go? Either of them?

She walked toward Colonel Phillips’ tent, and just barely kept her composure when hearing his words. “… as a result, I must declare, Captain Rogers: killed in action.”

And Natasha. But nobody seemed to write reports on the women anyways. 

“Last surveillance flight is back,” she reported. “No sign of activity.”  
She could barely believe the words she was speaking. Only a day or two ago, she was talking with both of them, talking with Steve. And now, poof, they’re gone.

“Go get a cup of coffee, Corporal,” the colonel stated. Peggy just tensed, knew what was coming next. It was, evidently, her fault they went missing. That they were dead. At least that’s how the reports would say it.

“Can’t touch Stark, he’s rich,” he began, “and he’s the army’s number one weapons contractor, you are neither one.”

“With respect, sir, I don’t regret my actions. And I don’t think neither Captain Rogers or Agent Romanoff did either,” she responded.

“What makes you think I give a damn about your opinions?”

She honestly didn’t expect any other answer from him, but kept in any possibly remark anyways.

“I took a chance with you Agent Carter, and now America’s Golden Boy and a lot of other brave men are dead. Because of a crush! Not to mention the spy, she was going for a crucial assignment in two days,” he responded.

“Is that all you care about her? That she’s of use to you? You didn’t even write a report for her death,” Peggy inquired. She knew there would be backlash for commenting, but she just couldn’t keep quiet. 

“No, I care about every man’s safety, woman too. But when a war is being fought, you have to make sacrifices. She was one of the best spies we had, he was one of the best fighters. Now they’re both gone,” he sighed. There was a moment of silence, and Peggy was about to leave the tent, when she turned back.

“And there was no crush. It was’t that at all. I had faith,” she added.   
“Well, I hope that’s a comfort to you when this division gets shut down,” Colonel Phillips relied, with a crease in his brow.

Right then a commotion of men came from out side. People calling, people running. 

“What the hell is going on out there?” 

In a matter of seconds, both Peggy and Colonel Phillips were following the crowd of men, and Peggy wasn’t prepared for the sight she was going to see.

Steve was leading a whole group of men down the trail. Natasha was present too, less so seen helping the stragglers that were falling behind. 

When she thought she had lost all hope, they were alive. And they had saved others as well. Peggy couldn’t have been happier. She knew her faith was in the right place, and in the right people.

“Some of these men need medical attention,” Steve reported, after saluting to the colonel.

Colonel Phillips just looked around, not really know what to say. 

“I will surrender myself for disciplinary action,” Steve added after a moment. Natasha nodded too once the Colonel had caught sight of her.

He sighed and shook his head, “That won’t be necessary.”  
“Yes, sir,” Steve responded.

“Yes, sir,” Natasha stated as well. 

“Faith, huh?” the colonel said when he turned back to Peggy. 

She just kept her face neutral, then stepped up to Steve. Her heart pounded in her chest and she could barely hold herself from wrapping her arms around him in a hug, yet that wouldn’t be professional near appropriate in this setting. Perhaps in another life, another time, where they hadn’t met due to war.

“You’re late,” she stated. Her face was less than a foot away from his own, the closeness thrilled her.

“Couldn’t call my ride,” Steve replied, pulling out the destroyed transponder.

She just gave him a sly smile, as one of the soldiers spoke up.

“Let’s hear it for Captain America!”

The crowd surrounding them cheered and clapped and whistled and hooted.


	7. The Date

(General Narrator)

They packed up camp and the division pulled out of the Austrian Alps, then relocated to the heart of London, where they had access to more resources and materials. 

Howard Stark had already claimed a sector of the large building they were using as a command center, while Colonel Phillips, Peggy and other military officials started constructing plans for future battles and attacks. Steve, after getting a glimpse at a HYDRA map when finding Bucky, had helped mark their own map with the locations of HYDRA bases he could recall. He continued to take on his “Captain America” role and began to assemble a team to help destroy the remaining HYDRA bases. 

o0o

(Bucky’s POV)

“Dismissed,” Lieutenant Williams explained. They were all crowded in a basement underneath a set of apartment buildings in which the troops were being housed at the moment. 

Bucky needed some air, just going over these battle plans for hours on end began to give him a headache. Plus it was far too warm in that room to be comfortable, and it was nearing winter.

He eventually found himself on the roof. The building itself wasn’t very tall, but the view from the rooftop was breathtaking. You could see the River Thames from up there, which he figured out only a few days ago when he couldn’t sleep at night.

Now it was late afternoon, the wind blowing a chilly breeze and the clouds looking an ominous grey. Everything seemed bleak, Bucky even felt a tad bit bleak. He hoped to maybe go to the pub with the rest of the to-be “Howling Commandos” later on that night.

But his mood seemed to turn around in an instant when he saw another figure looking off at the view from the edge of the rooftop. Her red hair was pulled back into a duct braid that pulled into a bun at the nape of her neck, and a few loose strands framed her cheeks. She was wearing a navy dress, with a black sweater and black boots to match. 

“I know you’re watching me,” she said after a moment.

Bucky tensed with surprise, then chuckled and walked over to her side.

“What gave it away?” he asked now standing right next to her. She still hadn’t looked over to him, just kept her gaze on the river to the west.

“The wind blew right past you towards me. I could smell your cologne,” she responded.

“And you know what my cologne smells like?” he questioned.

Now she turned to face him, her face caught in a blush, but her face was set in a small scowl. “Well, I don’t know I just…. I didn’t mean,” she tried to explain defensively, which only caused Bucky grin at her.

“You didn’t what?” he questioned, with a mocking pout.

“It doesn’t matter,” she shook her head but couldn’t help but let out a light snicker.

“Hm. I still think you’re stalking me,” he mused.

“Me?!” she gasped in fake surprise and slapped his arm gently. “You’re the one who found me up here.”

“Accidentally,” he defended.

“Sure,” she said, rolled her eyes, then sat down on the ledge.

Bucky sat down next to her, letting his feet dangle of the edge like she had. Her legs swung softly, almost absentmindedly as she was lost in thought. They both sat in silence. A calm silence that didn’t hold any sort of awkwardness, and Bucky had so say, it felt nice and natural. They kept their eyes out on the horizon. Well, that was until Bucky fell victim to Natasha’s luring spell, and he looked over at her.

The wind caused for multiple flyaways to separate loosely from her braid, and now that he looked closely, he could tell that her cheeks were actually lightly freckled. She also had a faint scar near her hairline and light dimples too, even when she didn’t smile. All these details, he had just noticed, and he kept every new discovery in a special place in his heart. That was when he realized he was falling for her. Quickly, (almost too quickly) he averted his gaze and returned it onto the view in front of him. Yet he couldn’t help but to glance at her every few minutes.

Eventually, he spoke. Not knowing exactly why. He enjoyed this silence, but something made him want to hear her voice again. 

“We’re a far ways from New York now,” he breathed. A little puff of vapor appearing in the air as he talked, just showing how cold it was. His hands were already almost numb.

“That’s for certain,” she nodded.

“You miss it?” he asked. That made her look at him briefly before returning her focus onto the view.

“I don’t know. It never really felt like home to me,” Natasha sighed. “What about you? Brooklyn? Do you miss it?”

“I miss the familiarity of it, it was my home for the majority of my life but, as a kid we never stayed in one place long,” Bucky explained.

“Work?”

He nodded. “My father’s. I grew up with my father training and moving from camp to camp. My sister and I were military brats. Just becoming a sergeant seemed like fate.”  
“So this all isn’t new to you?” Natasha asked.

“The war is, the jobs and training? Not so much,” he replied. “Overall Brooklyn seems like home, but I don’t know if I would go back after the war. Maybe. We’ll see.”  
He paused for a moment before continuing on.

“What about you? If Lower East Side isn’t home, where is?” 

Natasha sucked in a breath and Bucky feared he had overstepped. Was that too much of a personal question? He didn’t know. But Natasha spoke anyways, her eyes still trained on the surrounding landscape.

“I don’t know,” she sighed and shook her head. “I grew up in Russia, in an orphanage. I don’t know my mother or father."  
Bucky looked down at his hands. He had definitely overstepped. “If you don’t want to share, Natasha, I understand…”

“No,” she said gently, and took his hand in her own. His skin tingled and soon became warm from the contact. Not only that, but suddenly a fluttering feeling coursed through his stomach. “I want to tell you.”

Now she looked into his eyes and they stared at each other for a moment. Natasha was the first to break the daze and look away, yet she kept her hand clasping his.

“There were too many kids in the orphanage and already the place was like a hell on earth. There were bullies, and a pecking order too. I was extremely lucky if I got a meal once a day with the food being so limited. Many times I was in fights I couldn’t win, being too small and helpless. That’s why I was so confused with Steve. Why would he get into fights he couldn’t win? I had no choice, they picked me,” she continued, “anyhow, this isn’t about Steve.”

She glanced up at the brunette for a moment, and he gave her a soft and encouraging expression. He wanted her to feel that she could trust him. What Bucky didn’t know was that she already did.

“When I was ten, three new kids were brought in. With the orphanage at over maximum capacity, they had to kick three kids out.”

‘What?!’ Bucky wanted to ask. A horrified and confused expression crossed his face. Why would they do that? How would they do that? But he didn’t say anything, just let Natasha speak.

“I volunteered. After all I had went through there, I assumed I would be fine on the streets. Now I would at least have freedom. But I was wrong, it wasn’t any better being homeless,” Natasha shrugged. “That’s when I learned how to fight. I made a…friend, and he taught me how to punch. How to defend myself. And he was like my family. Me, him and a couple of his friends against the world.”

“But…” Bucky said quietly.

“Yeah, there’s always a ‘but’,” Natasha sighed. “But he died when I was seventeen. My ‘family’ left, and I felt no connection to Russia. I wanted to leave Stalingrad.”

“So that’s when you came to New York,” he finished.

“Yeah, and I met you,” she smiled, but then her face turned serious again. “But that’s not my home. Russia isn’t my home either. I’ve never really felt that sort of security. And now with the war? My future is even more uncertain.”

He nodded, then sighed.   
“If the war ended tomorrow, what would you do?” Bucky asked, out of the blue.

She thought for a moment, then let out a slight scoff, “I have no clue. What about you?”

“I would go dancing. I’d ask out a beautiful girl to go dancing with me,” he responded, while leaning back slightly so he was resting on his hands.

“You could do that now,” Natasha shrugged. “Any day of the week.”

“Yes, but once people aren’t suffering from the terrors of war, once the world is at peace again, the dance will just feel all the more special,” he responded.

“Hm,” Natasha thought it over, then asked jokingly. “And tonight then?”

“And tonight I’ll do the same thing. I’d go dancing,” he shrugged.

“With who?”

“You.”  
Natasha was suddenly silent and their eyes met. It was as if time had frozen and the two just looked at each other. Bucky, nervous hoping Natasha wouldn’t slap him across the face then and there. And Natasha, trying to determine if he was joking or not.

“Are you asking me on a date?” she asked after a moment.

“Yes,” he said with all seriousness. “Yes, Natasha Romanoff, I am.”  
He then stood up, leaving her sitting on the roof, stunned. 

“Harry’s Pub, 8 o’clock. Don’t be late,” he added, then walked down the stairs, not even waiting for an answer. He knew her well enough to know she would show. Or at least he hoped so.

o0o

(Natasha’s POV)

Had he just…

Before Natasha could even think up a response, he was gone. Why did she have the urge to both slap him across the face but also feel the need to kiss him at the same time? Needless to say, James Buchanan Barnes drove her crazy. The two forces inside her were playing an evil game of tug-of-war. Her head versus her heart; and at the moment her heart was winning out. 

Sure, she didn’t want to get hurt again, she didn’t want to loose somebody she cared about, again. But if she just pushed Bucky away? If she didn’t admit the evident feelings she felt towards the sergeant? That wouldn’t be any better. Her heart would still hurt. So, she would show. She would go to Harry’s Pub at 8:00. No matter what nonsense her head decided to tell her, she would show. 

Her mind was made up, and, already, her heart was racing with excitement. 

***

She had chosen a new dress, one she had just finished sewing about a week ago. With no missions in the past month and Peggy advising her not to attend the strategic meetings (explaining that Colonel Phillips would say it’s not “her place” to provide input), Natasha had shopped for some fabric and a new sewing pattern from a London seamstress. Busying herself with sewing helped distract her from all the worries in her head. The ones from the war and the main one from her upcoming mission.

Colonel Phillips even said it would be incredibly challenging and take nearly 2 months to complete. She had to go undercover as a secretary for one of the largest Nazi headquarters and already the thought gave her the chills. A whole costume would be put in place, including a wig, leaving the possibility of many things to go wrong. So, to calm her mind, she sewed stitches and it almost felt like old times again, where she and Mrs. Sokolv would talk for hours.

Natasha paused, looking at her finished work. It was an elegant short sleeved black dress that had a bias-cut flared skirt which flowed to just above her knee, classic padded shoulders, a knot design on the bust, along with a “peek-a-boo” (as Mrs. Sokolv called it) lace insert underneath. Two small lapels framed the generous neckline, and she had also made a matching long sleeved bolero out of thicker material to go along with it (Natasha assumed it would be a decently chilled night). Mrs. Sokolv would’ve been proud. And Mrs. Sokolv would’ve liked Bucky.

That thought made Natasha sighed and she just stood there a moment, looking at the dress and thinking of how this night would play out. She smiled at the latter thought. A soft smile, one that made her eyes glimmer.

She changed into the black dress, and there was no question about it, it was absolutely perfect. Natasha shifted side to side on the balls of her feet, looking at the reflection in the mirror. She tended not to worry about looks, definitely not when she was growing up. A mirror used to be her enemy, only reflecting back at her the horrible doubts and insecurities she thought in her mind. Thoughts about her worth, and self value. 

But looking into the mirror that night, with her hair curled loosely (adding more volume to her already natural curls), and that special necklace around her neck; the charm of the Black Widow resting on her chest? She… she looked… Natasha thought she looked beautiful, from the inside out.

“*Oh, God, you’re crying now. Stupid,*” she cursed herself in Russian and wiped away a loose tear. That’s when she heard a knock at the door.

She walked over to the door while adding a dash of lipstick, yet she didn’t really feel like she needed it. Quickly, she picked up her purse, slung it over her shoulder, then answered the door, cautiously. To her surprise it was Peggy standing in the hallway.

“Peggy?” Natasha opened the door.

“I see you’re ready for a special occasion,” Peggy looked her up and down.

“Could say the same about you,” Natasha responded. Peggy was wearing a brilliant red dress with a v-neckline and beautiful golden broach near the center. It fit her flawlessly and had just the right amount of poof in the sleeves and flow in the skirt. The seamstress did well.

“No, well I’m just… it’s a free night so I thought I’d take a stroll around or so. I haven’t been back here in a while,” she sighed. “But speaking about you, I assume there’s something more?”  
Natasha stifled a slight laugh, and let out a breath, “Bucky asked me.”  
“Out? On a date?” Peggy clarified.

“What did you think?” she quipped.

“Took the man long enough,” the agent muttered under her breath.

“What?”  
“Oh please don’t tell me you’re that oblivious. If you are, I’m worried on how you became a spy!” Peggy began. When Natasha still gave her a look of confusion, she continued on. “He was eyeing you during all the debriefings. And when you two talk with each other, it’s just non-stop flirting!”

“Okay, not ‘non-stop’,” Natasha groaned.

“You should really see yourselves,” she added with a laughed.

“Well, yes I am going on a date with him,” Nat stated, “and I’m nearly late.”  
“Good luck then,” Peggy replied with a knowing smile.

Before Natasha could even lock her door, Peggy had turned around and began to walk back down the hallway.

“Peggy!” she called from her doorway.

The agent stopped in her tracks and turned around.

“Why did you come over here? Did you need to tell me something?”  
Peggy stopped, thought a moment, then responded; hurrying her way back to Natasha’s side and handing her a folder she retrieved from her handbag. 

“Just some new information on ‘the Prairie,” she stated.

‘The Prairie’ was the codename for the mission Natasha had ahead of her. She took the folder gratefully then unlocked her door again to place it securely in a hidden location. 

“Thank you,” Natasha sighed when she reemerged from her room.

“Anytime, have fun alright?” Peggy smiled and nodded curtly.

“Yes, ma’am,” Natasha responded as the brunette made her way back down the hallway and walked downstairs. Natasha could even hear her heels clicking the full way down.

Once her own door was locked, she followed. Already butterflies flittered and fluttered in her stomach. Natasha Romanoff nervous? Never! But she had to admit she was, yet there was a great deal of excitement in the mix as well.

Quickly, after exiting the apartment building, she hurried down the street. The last thing she wanted to be was late.

o0o

(Steve’s POV)

“You keep looking at the clock,” Steve observed as he watched Bucky sip on his drink. It was a light liquor and Steve was surprised. Usually Bucky jumped at the opportunity to get drunk. 

“And at the door,” Steve added. “Are you expecting someone?”

“And so what if I am?” he shrugged.

“Did you do what I think you did?” Steve asked after a moment, connecting the dots.

“If you think I asked a girl out on a date, then you are correct my friend,” Bucky sighed.

“Did you… ask Natasha?” the blonde inquired. That was the only possibility. She was the only girl that had ever made Bucky act shy and embarrassed when being talked to. Plus, she seemed to have a knack at making him blush, whether she noticed it or not.

“Yes, do you really think I would’ve asked anyone else?” he asked, shocked at even the fact that Steve would think otherwise.

“I just didn’t think you’d have to courage to do so,” Steve shrugged back.

That made the brunette chuckle to himself, then take another sip of his drink. “Like you and the agent, right? Still can’t ask her out?”

“Hey… I…” 

“Speak of the devil. Or maybe angel if you’re the one talking,” Bucky nodded his head towards the door. Steve then noticed that Bucky had really never taken his eyes off of the entrance. 

And there she was, Peggy. The bar got awkwardly quiet and Steve could tell some of the men were obviously eyeing her.

“Wonder what’s she doing here,” Steve muttered under his breath.

“You go find that out pal.”  
Steve crossed the room where Peggy still stood in the doorway. The Captain had been in the pub trying to convince a few of the brave men he had saved from that HYDRA base to join him in taking down more of the evil operation’s posts. So far he had convinced everyone, including Bucky, and they were planning on leaving to the closest one by that Monday (in only 2 days, being a Saturday night). The “Howling Commandos” was their said nickname and Steve couldn’t wait to jump into action, but first, there was Peggy.

“What’re you doing here?” he asked.

“Mind if we have a word? Outside?” she responded.

“Sure thing,” Steve replied and followed her out of the pub. She looked beautiful, wearing a red dress that fit her in a breathtaking way. He forced himself not to stare, knowing it would seem rude. Incredibly rude! He cursed himself in his mind.

“I let you recruit your choice of men, but they’re now drinking like a bunch of seamen. You’re sure they’re ready for the job? I have a couple listings here that would…”  
“Peggy, do you trust me?” he interrupted.

She opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again (probably trying to argue with him but not succeeding).

“Yes, of course,” she replied.

“Then let me tell you, these are the men I want. They not only have the skill but the drive to handle these missions.”

With that statement she gave him an arched eyebrow and nodded towards the pub.

“You should’ve seen them in action,” Steve defended.

“I trust your decision,” she stated, again. Then they shared a silence where just the faint sound of music from inside the pub filled the quietude. 

“You know,” Peggy began again, now walking a few steps away from the entrance as a group of rowdy men headed toward the bar. “When this war is over, I may just go dancing.”

“Why wait?” Steve asked. If she had her sights on a man, why not just ask? Practically any man inside that pub would jump at the chance.

“I’ll wait, for the right partner,” she replied with a calm smile. 

Steve wasn’t prepared for what it would feel like when his own words were used against him, in a flirtatious manor. That was flirtatious? Right? 

“Goodnight Steve. I’ll see you on Monday.”

She leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Steve was sure a bit of her red lipstick still remained on his skin, and once she was out of sight, did he bring his finger to brush up against the spot. It still tingled to the touch.

That whole night, Steve could’t get Peggy’s words or her little peck out of his head. Steve was in for it. He was falling for her hard.

o0o

(Bucky’s POV)

Steve said he was going to turn in for the night, leaving Bucky at the pub alone. He nursed the last bit of his drink and eyed the clock. 8:06. Less than ten minutes late, he wouldn’t hold that against her, yet Bucky couldn’t help but wonder if he had scared her off. Maybe he was being too up front. Maybe she wouldn’t show.

Yet then, only moments later, he looked up when the door opened to find Natasha standing in the doorway, looking through the crowd. Like when Peggy had entered, some of the men went silent as she seemed to command all eyes onto herself. But Natasha only had her eyes on Bucky, as she gave him a soft grin.

To say she looked stunning was a complete understatement, and it felt like Bucky was seeing her for the first time all over again, like when he watched from the mouth of the alleyway in awe. Her black dress was beautiful, yet who cared about the dress. She was stunning no mater what she wore, and she had showed! Bucky couldn’t have been happier.

She crossed the room and joined him by the bar, sitting by his side.

“Hey, sorry I’m late,” she explained, almost breathless. She ran her fingers through her hair quickly and adjusted her waist length jacket. He assumed she had just ran over from the apartment complex.

“I’m just glad you came,” he beamed back at her. That caused her smiled to grow just a bit wider and even softer (if you could imagine). Her dimples, which he now seemed to notice more and more, were evidently showing. 

“You want a drink?” he asked. “I’ve already had one.”

He expected her to decline. Even with more women drinking since the twenties, most still shied away from the beverage. But not Natasha.

“Sure, a vodka,” she replied with a shrug.

Bucky chuckled, marveling at her drink choice. He ordered for her, and only moments later the bartender returned with a small glass.

“Take it easy, ma’am,” he warned. And Natasha just took a sip, not even wincing.

“I think she can handle it,” Bucky shrugged.

“Suppose so,” the bartender huffed, and then left to help serve a tableful of men.

“May I remind you, I’m Russian,” Natasha smirked as she took another sip.

“How you handle your alcohol isn’t an ethnicity trait,” he quipped back.

“Know it all,” she muttered under her breath, but a sly smile still tainted her lips.

“You said you were going to take me dancing, not for a drink,” she spoke again after a moment. Now she was nearly done were her vodka.

“It’s a two in one. Brilliant, isn’t it?” Bucky replied, sarcastically.

“Yeah, but this alcohol isn’t,” she scrunched her nose up just so that it made his stomach do a flip, but in a good way, of course. He sat there for a moment, just taking the whole scene in; his gaze set on her eyes, before deciding to ask her to dance. 

“Come on,” Bucky took her hand and pulled her away from the barstool.

She took her final sip of the beverage then let him pull her onto the dance floor. A man was playing a song on the piano, it was quick and fast paced, and even some of the men were signing some folksong along with the melody.

Immediately he pulled her into a twirl and they started dancing from there. That same natural pull between them was otherworldly. They danced the same moves before they even knew they were dancing them, and time seemed to fly. Any worry that Bucky had present in his mind had flown out the window, and his sole focus was on the redhead beaming before him.

He wished he could’ve taken a photo the exact moment she giggled when he pulled her out of a twist and into a second twirl. He wished he could just dance with her forever. He didn’t even notice the cheers and claps coming from the men surrounding them, all her could see was her.

When the song ended, their faces were only millimeters apart, both of them breathing deeply due to the exhaustion from the dance. 

“Go again!” Another man yelled, and many of the others agreed.

Bucky looked to Natasha and she gave him a sly smirk. “Wanna go again?” she asked, her voice still breathless.

He just nodded with a beaming smile. He must’ve looked foolish, yet he didn’t care. He didn’t care one bit.

They did another round, this time to a bit of a slower song yet it was still incredibly fast paced. Natasha still had that same smile on her face, one that Bucky knew he would never get tired of. 

By the end of their second dance, her cheeks were rosy, and her hair was a little out of place; yet she adjusted back to normal within just a run through the auburn strands with her hand. 

As she returned to their seats, one of his fellow Commandos grabbed Bucky’s arm.

“You didn’t tell me you had a beautiful dame, boy. Man, she’s fine,” he snickered.

Bucky just gave him a halfhearted nod. She was fine, and beautiful, yet when other men talked like that about Natasha, he couldn’t help but become a bit protective. She seemed to be gathering her things, picking up her sweater and purse. Bucky walked up to her and gave her a confused glance. It was as if she read his mind and quickly explained her idea.

“I thought we’d take a walk. The night’s still young,” she shrugged.

“If that’s okay with you.” She added quickly after. 

“I’d like nothing more,” Bucky sighed. “Let’s go.”  
Almost cautiously, he draped an arm over her shoulder, and she seemed to melt into his embrace. That caused for his heart to stutter, and a blush to form on his cheeks. If only Steve had seen him now, the blonde would’ve made a comment about him for sure.

o0o

(Natasha’s POV)

Bucky had shifted from placing his arm over her shoulder, to just simply holding her hand after a while, yet Natasha didn’t mind. She loved both, holding his hand and feeling his (protective?) embrace around her. And an odd realization crossed over her, she felt safe in his embrace and assured by his touch. Natasha had never felt that before. Safety was something she always thought only she could provide for herself, but with Bucky? She had began to trust him deeply. And she decided she would welcome this newfound trust.

They eventually stopped by the edge of the River Thames, the same river they saw the view of from the apartment rooftop. Their feet dangled, side by side, as they sat on the concrete ledge and watched boats float on the river. 

Not many people were out and no lights adorned the city (due to blackout curtains). In general, it seemed eerily silent. All silent except the sound of faint piano music coming from a few blocks over.

Bucky stood up, holding out his hand to take hers.

“I never gave you a slow dance,” he explained.

She nearly laughed at him right there. Him and his obvious flirting, Peggy was right about them. But instead she looked up at him with wondering eyes. Even in the nighttime darkness, she could see his crisp blue irises. 

Natasha took his hand, and let him lead her towards the sound of the piano music. As they grew closer, they noticed it was coming from a man playing the music in his living room, with the window wide open. So, the two crossed the street where there was a grassy patch and listened to the music from there.

It was purely classical, a song that neither Natasha nor Bucky could exactly pinpoint, and was probably written by some 19th century composer.

The song started off soft, with a steady yet slow pace. Bucky’s left hand fell to her waist while his right held onto her hand. Meanwhile, she placed her right on his shoulder, and her left into his palm. He gripped it tenderly as they began to step slowly to the music.

This time there was no awkwardness, no shyness about it at all. Immediately, their eyes were drawn to one another, and Natasha kept her gaze on his contently. Green gazing into blue, how it was always meant to be.

She let her thoughts roam at first, and let Bucky lead her. But after a few seconds, she settled into the peace and tranquility of the moment, and soon only Bucky occupied her thoughts. That, and the sound of the music.

When the melody would hit faster segments, Bucky would lead them in a quick four step waltz, turn her in a spin, then return to the pace he had set out from before. Their movements matched the highs and lows of the melodies and tempo. Natasha thought it was perfect, almost like art.

Eventually, what felt only like seconds later, but was actually minutes, the pianist finished the song. Natasha’s face was so close to Bucky’s she could feel his breath, and her heart skipped at the thought of what she wanted to do next. The thing she had been too afraid to do at that swing club.   
She rose onto the tips of her toes and kissed him. It was a ghost of a kiss. Soft, gentle and delicate. Maybe too delicate. Bucky stood there stunned, yet only for a moment before he leaned down, pulled her closer to himself and kissed her. Both his hands cupped and caressed her cheeks while her own arms were slung over his neck.

The second kiss was completely different compared to the first. It was filled with all the passion they had been hiding for so long. It transferred the feelings they both were too scared to admit, and it expressed everything. With this kiss, Natasha noticed how soft his lips were and that it had a hint of the cheap liquor he had drank from before. A million words were passed in that one kiss. A kiss that left Natasha feeling breathless once they broke it.

She stared up at him, at a loss for words, not even knowing what to say. She opened her mouth to speak, yet not a sound was made. He had left her speechless.

With her strong gaze and lips slightly parted, Bucky just seemed like he couldn’t contain himself. He added one more peck, that Natasha deepened, lasting them a good five seconds. This time, when they broke, Natasha stifled a light giggle. It was breathy, airy, and caused Bucky to blush. Even she could see it.

“Let’s go,” she said, and tugged on his arm.

“Where?” he asked.

“Anywhere,” she responded, but eventually led him to the riverbank. They climbed down onto the sand to sit down and listen to the waves lightly lapping the shore.

Natasha broke the silence once again, yet the peacefulness had began to feel more comfortable than ever. She sat only less than a foot away from him, her hand within distance of grasping his.

“Tomorrow, I leave for Berlin,” she sighed.

He took in a sharp breath, then turned his gaze from the river onto her.

“And I’ll leave on Monday with Steve.”

“Parting ways, again,” Natasha added. She didn’t mean for her voice to sound hurt, yet it must’ve came across that way since Bucky reached for her hand and squeezed it.

“We’ll see each other again. I know it. That will only be one more journey we’ll have to take alone before we can come back together.”

“You believe that?” she asked with a questioning glance.

“I do,” he nodded sincerely.

They sat in the silence again, but now Natasha did feel the need to fill it. With the thoughts of future missions looming overhead, she wanted to make use out of their time.

“I thought about what you asked me. What I’d do after the war is over, where I’d go.”  
Bucky looked over at her, waiting for her response.

“I’d go everywhere. Take trains and boats to different countries. I mean, I already speak many languages. I could stay in one place for a year, another for a few months. Live my life freely, like I’ve always had,” she finished.

Bucky smiled at her, “That sounds like a good plan.”

“What? You think you’re apart of it?” she scoffed, turning on her side to face him as well. She didn’t mind if it got sand on her dress.

“Well, I’d hope so. If I decide to make a life with you, and you don’t turn me down,” he explained.

That made Natasha freeze. It was their first date and he already talked about a future with them together. She thought she would be scared of it, fearful, find it overwhelming, yet there was a strange comfort to it. And a feeling of joy at the idea.

“Where would we go first?” he asked after a moment.

“Germany, but after the war. I want to see the Rhine. Even fairytales have been written about that place. If that isn’t a sign then I don’t know what is,” she explained. A fairytale place for a fairytale future. She’d make that work. “Then where’d we go next, Bucky?”

“Norway. To see the Northern lights. I remember reading about it in school. Ever since that day I’ve wanted to see it,” he responded.

“The Rhine then the Northern Lights,” she nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

But this was false hope, right? That was if this war ended. If these places even existed by the conclusion of it. That was if they both made it out alive.

‘No, don’t think that, Natasha,’ she scolded herself in her head. So, for the rest of their time on the beach, they laid in silence. Nothing but the sound of the faint waves and their light breathing. That, and Natasha imagining a future with Bucky. She just couldn’t help herself.

o0o

(Bucky’s POV)

Bucky didn’t want the night to end. But Natasha had to leave the next night, and he had to leave the morning after that.

He had kissed her though, one of the many joys of the evening. He was even pretty sure it left him blushing. She was a good kisser. Okay, maybe better than good. Kissing her made his stomach do somersaults, and his heart pound like a beating drum. She tasted strongly of vodka, but also sweet. And her lips? Soft and delicate as ever. Bucky knew that it was useless to kiss anybody else again. Nobody could compare to Natasha. 

Some would say that’s a bold assumption from just the first kiss, yet Bucky had a strong sense, and a strong will. He felt that sense when finding Steve. When they became family. Natasha was different, different by far; yet she had made him feel something that no other girl ever had. If he was being honest with himself, he did want a future with her. He did.

That’s what made them going on separate paths, separate missions, that much harder. That’s what made ending this night that much more heartbreaking. 

But it was getting late, already past midnight and Natasha needed her rest for tomorrow. He sighed and stood up on the sand, holding his hand out for her to take.

“Always the gentleman,” she said with a smile, then dusted off her dress.

She began to walk back to the road until Bucky stopped her. 

“Wait, Natasha,” he said. As they sat in silence, an idea had came to him. He wanted her to have a part of him, aways, and there was only one solution to that.

He took off the beady metal chain that hung around his neck, unclipped it and took one of his dog tags off.

“Take it. So a part of me will be with you,” he held the flat engraved metal tag out for her.

She took it like it was a precious gem. Like it was worth more than just a few cents. 

“Don’t you need both?” she asked, still looking at the tag like it was a ruby.

“No, they say the same thing on both,” he shrugged.

Immediately, she took off her own necklace, slung the tag onto the chain and then removed the spider charm from the jewelry item. 

“And take this, so a part of me will be with you,” she stated and put the charm into his hand. 

He too, looked at it like it was an ancient artifact, that it was one of the most valuable items he had. He carefully slid the chain through the hole, and let the pendant sit next to his other dog tag.

“Now we won’t ever be apart,” he said, his eyes landing on Natasha’s with a soft gaze.

She smiled back. “Never.”

Bucky knew he would remember this night forever. Until the day he died. 

o0o 

(Steve’s POV)

Steve knew this embarrassment would stick with him forever. Until the day he died. The guilt too. Steve always thought his first kiss would be special, not with some random secretary who pushed herself onto him.

And Steve didn’t want the kiss, yet he should’ve been more clear about that, because when Peggy turned the corner and saw them, his heart just broke.

“Peggy, its not what it…”  
But she was gone. Truthfully, Steve didn’t want his first kiss to be with that blonde. No, rather with a certain brunette agent.

Yet Peggy wasn’t having any of it. While they tested the shield, she shot at him without hesitance, almost with anger. Then on Sunday morning, Peggy could barely look at him, giving him the cold shoulder and asking if he had “better things to do”.

It frustrated Steve, yet whenever he tried to explain himself, she would walk away. He had messed up, bad.

“What happened with you two?” Natasha asked as she gathered her supplies: a small discrete pistol, fake passports and IDs, fake badges, and foraged paperwork as well. Already she was dressed in a different outfit, one that had a swastika on the right sleeve. She looked at it with disgust, then sighed as she unfolded a matching jacket.

Steve knew about her mission. She had to pose as a secretary for one of the largest Nazi headquarters in Germany. It would be daunting and incredibly challenging, but Colonel Phillips had faith in her. So did Steve. She was said to leave in only a few minutes to catch the midnight train to Berlin.

Steve eventually responded to her question while running a hand through his hair nervously.

“I may have kissed that blonde secretary,” he sighed.

“You what?!” her green eyes glared at him intensely. He could even feel the wrath in her soul. God, he hated that look. But Peggy’s cold shoulder still hurt more.

“She initiated it! I didn’t even kiss back!” he explained, defensively. That just earned him a sarcastic chuckle from the redhead. Well, actually, now blonde (with her wig).

“But you didn’t stop it, did you? You wanted to know how it felt, right? Deep inside you, you craved it? That’s no excuse,” she shook her head.

“Well…I… if I could go back…”  
“That’s what they all say,” Natasha rolled her eyes.

“You know me, Natasha. I would never do anything like that. Honest!” he explained, walking up to her.

She slid the pistol in the waistband of her dark beige skirt. It was a similar style to the uniform she usually wore, just with a bit of a longer skirt. She then shrugged on a matching jacket and pinned on a badge that probably meant something, Steve just didn’t know what.

“Hm,” she gave him a look that still had a hint of the glare she was sporting before. “Peggy’s the one your should be asking forgiveness from, not me. I have a mission to attend.”  
“Please, Natasha,” he grabbed her arm before she could leave the room. “How do I fix this?”

Once again, she sighed, exasperated, then explained. “Prove it to her, that that was a mistake. Show her that you’re sorry, don’t just say it. That’s the only advice I can give you.”  
Before Steve could even respond and give his thanks, Bucky walked into the room.

“What’s the rush to talk to my girl, Steve?” he joked. The brunette strutted up to the both, gave Natasha a quick peck that left Steve stunned.   
“Address me like that again and I’ll knock the breath out of you,” she murmured in a such a tone it sounded sweet, yet the threat was still clearly there. And Steve guessed she was serious. 

“You knock the breath out of me anyways, did just now,” he responded.

Steve couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Helpless flirt.

She didn’t respond just caressed his cheek with her hand, when Colonel Phillips interrupted the moment. 

“Romanoff! Ferry leaves in fifteen, it's about time you get to the station!” he called.

“Yes, sir,” she responded, then turned her attention back to Bucky. 

Steve watched as she leaned in, whispered something into his ear, then kissed him tenderly once more before grabbing two trunks and leaving out the door. The brunette solider sighed and watched as she left, then turned to Steve.

“She’ll do fine,” Steve gave his assurance.

“Yeah, but I still can’t help but worry,” Bucky shook his head, looking down at the map that was marked by all the HYDRA bases they were going to infiltrate and destroy in the next few months. “She’s going into the lion’s den. If she’s found…”

“Don’t think about that,” he added, and patted him on the back. “And since when did… that happen?”

The kiss. The familiarity between the two. There was definitely a shift.

“Last night actually, but I think you know I’ve wanted to kiss her since the expo,” Bucky replied with a light smile. He chuckled to himself at the thought and Steve did too.

“God, you’ve got it bad, Buck.”  
“No… I…” 

“No use trying to hide it,” Steve continued.

Bucky only scoffed and shook his head, not knowing what to say.

Steve was happy for him, for them. But he couldn’t help but feel a tad bit jealous. He wanted that with Peggy. So, like Natasha said, he would prove himself. He would prove himself for his best girl.

o0o

(Natasha’s POV)

She kissed him once more, deeply this time. Who cared if Steve was there. Who cared if the whole world was watching. She needed this. She kissed him like it was their last time. Though, to spare Steve from embarrassment, she kept it shorter than she would’ve liked. 

First she took a ferry across the English channel, then boarded a train in Brussels. Altogether, she would have to take three connection stops before arriving in Berlin. The train ride was quiet, and Natasha was already transforming emotionally into her cover. She was Margot Schneider, a young woman (age 21) who applied for a secretary job in Berlin (which she received), part of the Nazi party, father deceased but she had two younger siblings (bother and sister) and a living mother, this was her first job and her mannerisms were both nervous but calm, quiet and collective. Her skill set was in calculations as well as a typist. And finally, Margot came from Stuttgart, which was why she was taking a train from the south west side of Germany. 

Just from her uniform, she had been given looks, and side eyes, yet as her cover should, she kept her head high (yet not too high). Believe her, Natasha hated the uniform as much as the old British man that spit on her feet had, yet she couldn’t do anything about that. For the remainder of the next two months she had to be a convincing “proud Nazi”.

Once she got into Germany, the hard glares dwindled down to about zero. If anything, she had begun to earn respect from some of the conductors or ticket boys, one of which tried to flirt with her. Natasha just used her shy cover to push him away.

She watched the midnight landscape eventually turn into an early sunrise view. The colors were breathtaking and Natasha couldn’t help herself but smile.

She fingered the necklace in her hand. The one with Bucky’s tag. The following information was engraved neatly in rows: James B. Barnes, 32557038, T41 42, O, R. Barnes, 3092 Stockton Rd., Shelbyville IN., P. From someone else’s perspective, reading the abbreviations and mix of letters and numbers would seem meaningless. Yet not to Natasha. She rubbed the piece of metal between her fingers until it was warm.  
Then, hours later, once the train finished its journey and came to a stop in Berlin, she placed the necklace into a secret compartment in her trunk, one she had made herself. She couldn’t risk anyone finding it, that would jeopardize the entire mission.

Natasha grabbed her trunks, with the help of one of the ticket boys, and exited the train. After finding a cab, she arrived at the headquarters, a grand building made structurally sound (probably due to the threat of bombing attacks). She checked her watch, it was 9:15, Monday night. Perfect, right on schedule.

Before entering, she took a pause. It may seem like she was nervous, and it fit her cover’s characteristic perfectly, but in truth Natasha was preparing herself for what was ahead. She took a breath, then opened the door. Natasha was no longer Natasha, she was Margot Schneider. She graced the room with a tentative smile, and salute. Then followed a solider into an office where she became registered as an official secretary for their building. 

“Guten abend, Fräulein. We’re pleased by your resume and your qualifications. Your work to the motherland is appreciated. Tomorrow will be your first day, starting at 6:30. Your schedule is in your folder. But we must check your bags before you settle,” the solider spoke in German.

“Of course, go through what you would like,” she responded. Her accent was perfect, her grammar was as well. So far they suspected nothing.

As the two soldiers went through her trunks, looking through her items, identification and paperwork, Natasha filled out a set of forms the main solider placed before her. It asked of her allegiance to the party, where she had registered for it, and other personal questions. She, of course, knew all the correct answers and filled it out easily. Once the two other men were done rifling through her bags, they gave her a curt nod.

“It’s a pleasure to have you join the movement, Fräulein,” he stated, then gave the salute.

Natasha did the same with a content look on her face.

“The pleasure is mine, Herr. Anything for the betterment of our country.”

Already she knew for certain that this mission wouldn’t be a piece of cake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song that Bucky and Natasha dance to on the grass is: Péludes, Premire livre, L.117: No. 8, La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin by Debussy


	8. Letters

(General Narrator)

The troops dispersed on Monday. Led by Captain America and the Howling Commandos, the elite force of the Allies swept through HYDRA base after HYDRA base, scratching each one off the list. Their success was a good sign at the turnout of the war, yet doubt and fears still laid in each person’s head. And even Captain America knew that the war was far from over.

o0o

(Steve’s POV)

Their camp was set on the outskirts of yet another HYDRA base. One in Poland he believed? It felt like the search would never stop. Every time they decimated one base, another seemed to pop up out of nowhere. Steve was beginning to think they took that “cut one head off two more grow back” thing a little too seriously.

He was looking at his compass with a blank sheet of paper on his desk and a fountain pen in his hand. He still hadn’t written her. Kept her portrait in his back pocket, yet still could get the courage to write to her. Steve didn’t know whether she would be angry at the fact that he wrote her one, or hurt by the fact he didn’t. That was his major dilemma. 

What would he even say? How would he start? At least he could think this conversation through before relying a message. Heck, he could make multiple drafts, yet this task still seemed daunting. 

“Dear Peggy…”

No, that’s too informal.

“Dear Agent Carter…?”

That’s too formal.

“Dear Margret…”  
You’ve never called her Margret in your life, you idiot!

And then what? Say you’re sorry? Say you miss her? Say you can’t stop thinking about her?

No, no, no. That’s too soon. After that fight? Saying you can’t stop thinking about her? Way too soon.

What would he talk about then? The weather? The fights? How the attacks are going?  
She would already have that information, she’s a top agent.

Ugh! Why was this so complicated?

Right then Bucky entered the tent. Actually, they did share it so it wasn’t like he was invading his space or anything, yet Steve felt the need to hide the letter-writing materials.

“Just write her, darn it. You’re going to regret it if you don’t,” Bucky sighed and shook his head at Steve just looking at the blank paper.

“But what if I regret it if I do?” he asked back.

“Steve, seriously, you have to shoot your shot.”  
“But, our fight… we…. I don’t even know how to address her…”  
With that Bucky face palmed himself as Steve let his head droop in embarrassment.

“Well nothing’s gonna get fixed if you don’t at least try to talk to her!”

Steve didn’t respond, just looked at his compass again.

“What about you?” the captain asked after a moment. “I haven’t seen you writing letters to Nat.”  
“I have, I just don’t send them,” the brunette shrugged. Now he was seated down on his cot and sipping on his canteen. Probably filled with whiskey no doubt.

Steve gave the solider a confused look. Doesn’t send them?

“Her mission? Remember. Case sensitive. I can’t send her anything, too suspicious,” Bucky reminded.

Steve nodded then, but returned his gaze to Bucky after a moment. “And you still write to her?”

“Yeah, when I get the chance. Thought I’d give it to her once I see her again. And if not… she’ll still get them. That’s my wish anyhow.”  
Steve sighed and smiled, while shaking his head lightly. The only word he could use to describe that was… sweet.

“What do you write in them?” he finally asked after a moment of silence.

Bucky chuckled.

“Anything. Anything and everything. Even if it’s just about the daily stuff, things that may seem meaningless can be the most meaningful,” he explained.

“LIGHTS OUT!” a call came from outside and Bucky lowered the lamp in their tent.

“I guess I’ll try that,” Steve nodded.

“Add in one of your sketches. She’d like that,” he suggested.

“Of her?”  
Bucky just shrugged again.

“If you feel she’d like that. If not, whatever you think she’d like. You know her better than I do Steve. Really, I can’t solve this for you.”

“I know, but thanks for the help, Buck.”

Bucky got dressed into his sleepwear, and Steve did too. Then they turned out the lights and went to sleep. Yet Steve didn’t sleep. He lit a candle and sat over his desk, trying to determine what to write, or draw.

He decided on a drawing. A rose. He imagined it to be red, yet charcoal pencils didn’t exactly give off color. For some odd reason, Peggy reminded him of a red rose. Maybe it was the dress she had worn that night at the pub, or maybe just her general attitude, yet he couldn’t see it any other way. 

He finished his sketch, just off of memory, and then wrote a small little note on the back of it: “A red rose for my best girl. I’m sorry for everything.”  
It was short, maybe too short, but at least it was a start. Steve sealed the envelope and wrote the address of her location on the front. Tomorrow he would send it, and he hoped, he really hoped, he would get another letter in return.

o0o

(Peggy’s POV)

All that anger and resentment towards Steve began to dwindle after he had left. If anything, it made her feel guilty. What if he never made it back and she sent him off on those horrible terms.

“NO!” Her mind would always tell herself. “No! You were right, absolutely right for that reaction. That man wasn’t special like you thought. Couldn’t even keep it in his pants for a full three months! To say he would wait for the ‘right partner’ but then kiss that blonde? It’s outrageous and hypercritical!”

She honestly didn’t know what to think. And maybe she had overacted. Maybe? Again, Peggy was confused.

But then she saw those tapes. She saw her picture on his compass. That was sure to earn her a look from the colonel and all the other lieutenants, but she didn’t mind. He could have regrets. He could feel guilty too. But he had to be the one to apologize, not her. Definitely not her. Those were her terms.

And an apology soon did come. In the form of a letter.  
She tore open the envelope quickly once she knew where it had came from, though she was careful not to rip anything that was inside.

To her surprise, there wasn’t a letter, but a sketch. A beautiful sketch of a rose. She knew that he liked to draw, and had a passion for art, but this? This took her breath away. So many details, and just the flow of it. It was absolutely beautiful.

She expected that to be it, but on the back of the sketch was a note. It read: “A red rose for my best girl. I’m sorry for everything.”

She was touched by the rose, found the note sweet, yet the sorry? That wasn’t nearly enough. She needed to know he was sorry. Really sorry. Actually sorry. So, Peggy wrote him a letter back.

“Dear, Steve,” she began. “Your rose was beautiful. Or my rose. Really, your sketch was immaculate and I’ll keep it in a special place, I assure you that. However, I must say your apology lacked. It lacked a lot. I was hurt, Steve, by what you did. I want you to respond to my letter and tell me what. What are you sorry for? I need to know. From Peggy.”

Peggy put the letter into an envelope, sealed it, then was ready to send it out the next day. As she picked up the sketch and placed it on her night table, she wondered why he called it a red rose. There was no color?

He envisioned it in color. Peggy smiled at the thought. A red rose, for his best girl. Yeah, she could accept that. And she hoped to accept his apology as well, as along as it was a good one.

o0o

(Steve’s POV)

It didn’t take too long for Steve to get a letter back, though it most definitely felt like it.

The blonde rushed to his tent after receiving a letter when mail came in. Bucky was already giving the captain a knowing look, which he promptly ignored.

Peggy had written back. She had written back and asked for a proper apology. She wanted to know what he was sorry for.

Before even a minute had passed since he finished reading the letter did he start writing a new one. He almost still couldn’t believe she had written back in the first place!

“Dear Peggy,” he started. This time he wrote on a piece of paper made for letters, not one torn out from his sketchbook. “I cannot even describe in words how sorry I am, and this apology won’t be the same as one in person. I think we both know that tone and expressions can’t be transmitted through paper. But of course, I’ll still give you an apology. I’m sorry for being stupid, first off. I’m sorry for kissing that secretary. I’m sorry for allowing her to attempt kissing me. I’m sorry for giving in to this temptation, when in truth, I had somebody else on my mind. I’m sorry for going behind you back for this. I’m sorry for abusing your trust. And I am very, very, very (I can’t even say how) sorry I am for hurting you. Extremely sorry. I want nothing more than be able to make it up to you. Thank you for giving me this chance to give you this apology, Peg. From, Steve.”

Steve read over the letter again, and then once more. Only once Bucky whined about him keeping the candlelight on while he was trying to sleep, did Steve finally seal the envelope. He hoped this apology would be enough. Enough to show how sorry he really was. 

o0o

(Peggy’s POV)

She got her apology. And she forgave him. She wrote him a letter or two while she was at it as well. ;)


	9. THE Letter

(Bucky’s POV)

After nearly three weeks of eliminating HYDRA bases, Peggy relayed to him some news (yes, both Peggy and Colonel Philips had joined their fight, but did more of the strategical planning and behind the scenes bits).

“It would be risky. Extremely risky. I know her schedule fully, you’d only be able to meet for less than an hour due to the drive from the city to the countryside, but you’d be able to see her,” Peggy explained.

“You think she can do it? Get away from Berlin?” Bucky clarified. He wanted nothing more than to see Natasha again, even if it was for ten seconds, God he just wanted to see her again. Know she was safe. But if that put her life in danger, her cover at risk? He would just wait. That was far too selfish to ask her to do that.

“Yes, knowing Natasha she could do it,” Peggy responded.

Bucky trusted the spy’s skills as well, but there was still this doubt… 

“At least write a letter explaining it, though use code. Make the letter seem like it's from home. No war references, use your initials only. And for the location, you know what to do,” she handed him two pieces of paper and an envelope.

Bucky had a letter to write.

o0o

(Natasha’s POV)

“For you, Fräulein,” a solider entered her tight workspace holding a letter. “From your brother back in Stuttgart.”

“Danke, Herr,” she nodded respectfully, then gleamed. “Must wonder of my duties. He wanted to enlist, but was far too young.”  
Natasha tried to make the letter seem less suspicious. So far she hadn’t received one until now. Keep that cheerful tone, she would do fine. She didn’t overshare but didn’t withhold any information either. Just kept a nice medium. Plus, this particular solider, Leon was his name, had been rather kind to her, though he believed in the party blindly. All of these men had. She was disgusted by it.

“How old is he?” Leon asked.

“16, though will be 17 in March.”

“Only two years then.”

“Let’s hope we win before then.”

“Agreed.”  
Leon had left the room, and Natasha placed the letter into the special hem in her skirt. She had sewed it especially for this job. Any valuable information Natasha came across, she would make a copy of it and slip it into her hemline. So far nobody had caught on and she wanted to keep it that way.

Over the course of these three weeks, she hadn’t only made copies of valuable intel, but made notes of anything important she spotted in the lieutenants office (the one she ‘worked’ for). It was full of maps, battle plans and even transcribed telegrams from all over Europe. This was bound to help her Allied officials. And so far, Natasha was proud of her work.

***

Only after she had locked the doors, drawn the blinds and checked to make sure her apartment was secure, did she open the letter.

It was written in code, disguised as, yes, a letter written from her younger brother. But once she reread the whole thing, decoded it and saw the faint J.B.B in the lower right corner did she realize what she could do. She could see him again. Next week, on the outskirts of Oranienburg, which was only a 50 minute drive, hour at most. Sure, she could only spend about an hour with Bucky, half an hour at least, yet she didn’t mind. It was by far worth it.

So, Natasha wrote a letter back, also in code, confirming her agreement to the plan. She was thrilled. She would see him in a week. If only time would go by faster.

o0o

(Bucky’s POV)

“He’ll drop you off at the edge of the city, far enough away that the plane won’t be noticed. You know where to meet her?” Peggy clarified.

“Yes,” Bucky nodded.

“Let’s go Barnes. Seriously, I can’t believe I’m escorting you to a date, damn it,” Howard muttered under his breath.

Bucky only chuckled a response, then turned back to the female agent. “Really, thank you Peggy. You don’t know how much this means to me.”

“I have an idea,” she responded with a smile. “And give Natasha my good graces. I hope her mission is going decently well.”

“With her as a spy, I count on it.”

“Let’s go, Barnes!” Howard called for the second time.

“Wait a moment,” he replied, a bit annoyed, then turned back to Peggy. She was helping him set this up, he should at least give her a bit of a push towards Steve.

“You have a free night. Just ask him,” he sighed.

“No, no, no,” she shook her head. “Coming into this I knew I wouldn’t be stupid and enter a relationship at all. Work comes first.”

“I have a feeling your heart tells you differently. Steve’s too.”

Again, she let out a breath. “Not now. If at all, not now.”

They both stood there a moment. Bucky maybe hoping she would change her mind, yet Peggy was stubborn, that was for sure.

“Go, you don’t have that much time.”  
Bucky nodded, then followed Stark to the plane. It was a quieter jet, so they wouldn’t draw any attention to themselves as they flew.

“Let’s go, lover-boy,” the pilot scoffed.

“Shut it, Stark,” Bucky muttered back. He would see her soon. Very soon. Just that thought made him smile lightly.

o0o

(Natasha’s POV)

There was only a slight time she was free, a few hours in the late afternoon. That’s when she’d meet with Bucky in Oranienburg. By the time she was released for that break, Natasha quickly hid the files she had gathered that day, then changed her clothes into something more common and casual, and finally found a cab to take her to Oranienburg.

They didn’t talk much. Actually, the driver didn’t talk at all, and Natasha preferred it that way. She feared that questions would arise, like why she was traveling alone. Sure, she’d have a cover story ready to go on the top of her head, but it still wouldn’t make her very comfortable. Not like this was a cushy job either.

Already small anxieties had set into place, which she masked effortlessly, yet still. She thought that possibly they had already taken suspicion and had sent a spy of their own to keep an eye on her. If they sent somebody to follow her through her daily tasks, she could get caught. Now meeting up with Bucky? A man who only spoke English? That would be hard to cover if they sent someone to spy on her little meeting.

It wasn’t like Natasha was even bringing case sensitive files to their “date”, but she knew he would stick out like a sore thumb. It took a great deal of work for even herself to fit in seamlessly with this daily life. Any clue that you were a foreigner, a foreigner from the enemy’s side; and you would be met by questions and possibly prosecution. 

But she wouldn’t think about that. Not now. Not when she knew who she would see within the next hour. 

o0o

(Bucky’s POV)

He stood on the edge of the river, still a few miles away from the main town. A few houses speckled the horizon, yet he doubted they could see him from their location. This time he was early, nearly by fifteen minutes. Or maybe he was on time, but nevertheless, when Natasha snuck up on him from behind, he wasn’t expecting it.

He felt a being nearly pounce on him, like a cat, and quickly he turned around with his gun drawn, only to find Natasha smirking up at him. She let out a laugh and stepped back to get a better vantage point of his scared face.

“Jesus Nat, don’t sneak up on me like that,” Bucky breathed, though he couldn’t stay mad for long. Her smile was completely contagious.

“I should do it more often,” she replied with that same smile.

“Hm,” he hummed and shook his head. She stepped forward, closer to the riverbank, when Bucky saw the opportunity for payback.

Quietly, he took a step after her, then grabbed her by the hips and lifted her up, swinging her around in the process. She nearly shrieked out of surprise, a little gasp escaped his lisps as well, and Bucky took pride in being able to give her a scare as well. Her pale baby blue dress blew in the wind, the skirt created a flapping sound. 

“Put me down!” she said in between laughs as he still spun her over the tall grass. Her feet just grazed over the long stems.

“Couldn’t hear you,” he replied.

“Put me…” she said a bit louder, but before she could even finish the sentence he set her down carefully. Still, he wore that cheeky grin that only made Natasha roll her eyes.

“I bring gifts,” she explained after a moment, revealing a small bag with some food inside. “All I could find, really. Everyone’s rationing everything.”

“It’s more than enough,” Bucky nodded, eyeing the tin of cookies she had uncovered.

“I wanted to treat you to a cafe, but with you not knowing any German, it could bring suspicion,” Natasha continued to explained, while unloading the bag. An assortment of cookies, savory garlic and cheese scones as well as small bottle of water to wash it down.

“Really, Natasha,” Bucky grasped her hand gently, stopping her for continuing to empty the bag. “All I wanted to see today was you. And still all I want to see today is you. You’re more than enough.”

If he looked closely, he could see her cheeks begin to blush, yet before it could be easily seen, she looked away (almost shyly), and picked up a cookie. He too, picked one up and they snacked on the food together, lying in the grass.

At first they had a casual conversation. Natasha shared how her mission had been going but left out crucial details. Bucky talked a bit of their success with eliminating the HYDRA bases but they didn’t dwell on those topics. For the most part they just enjoyed each other’s presence. Already, nearly ten minutes had passed, and Bucky couldn’t keep his eyes off Natasha. Anything and everything she did, he tried to commit to memory, just in case.

“What’re you doing?” she asked after a moment.

“You’re just… I don’t want to forget this. Ever. I don’t want to leave you again,” he began, his ice blue eyes finding her emerald green. “Let me just… look at you.”  
He did. And she was perfect. “God, when did I ever get so lucky?”

That caused for an odd expression to cross over Natasha’s face. One with concern, almost turning serious. Immediately Bucky became worried. Did he say something wrong?

o0o

(Natasha’s POV)

Just the way he talked. The way his eyes lit up when he saw her. His smile. The way he even just looked at her. When he looked at her, like she was the most miraculous treasure in the entire world, Natasha felt wanted. She felt appreciated, beautiful and just… When he looked at her with that gaze, it made her feel like she was important and loved. That wasn’t a feeling she had come to know. But it made her heart full.

And she assumed this new realization and overflow of emotions played out on her face, because he gave her a worried look. Of course she always let her guard down around him. 

“Natasha? What’s wrong? Did I…?” he asked softly.

“You…I can’t…” Natasha couldn’t even put the feeling into words. So she didn’t. Instead she leaned forward and brought her lips to his. Hoping, just hoping, he would feel all she had felt. She put every ‘thank you’, ‘adore you’ and maybe even an ‘I love you’ into that kiss. She kissed him deep but also softly. With passion, yet it was dedicate. She leaned into him, felt her body lay on top of his. His hands fell to her waist, her’s still on his cheeks. Natasha didn’t know if she believed in a heaven, but if there was one, she was pretty sure that this is what it felt like. Her basking in the sun, kissing the man she loved. Yet, Natasha felt it was far too early for that, to say those three words out loud.

But at this moment, that kiss was enough. Maybe more than enough.

o0o

(Bucky’s POV)

She could barely make out a reply before her lips had found his. Somehow she had always beat him to it, every time. Her lips still held that same softness and sweetness as before, except this time without the taste of vodka. She continued the kiss, longer than he had expected, yet Bucky wasn’t complaining.

No, this kiss was different. Different than even the kiss they shared that night, and by far Bucky had thought that that kiss was the best he had ever had in his life. But this one surpassed all. Every feeling, every emotion was relayed through this kiss. The push and pull between their lips mirrored an ocean tide. Their actions balanced, though Natasha did seemed to have the upper hand, but Bucky didn’t mind.

Soon enough he found himself on his back, his hands circled around her waist and Natasha, still kissing him, leaning into his chest. It was a feeling he didn’t want to stop. A feeling of… love. Could he say he loved her already? He didn’t know, so he didn’t say, yet he felt it. He knew that even with a war surrounding them and the world being ripped apart, as long as he was with her, he would feel okay. He would feel loved, and protected.   
Bucky had realized, then and there, lying with her in the meadow with her head resting on his chest, that Natasha Romanoff was his home. 

o0o

(Natasha’s POV)

She didn’t want to part ways with Bucky again. She wanted to hear his heartbeat through his casual dress shirt all day. She wanted to feel his lips on hers once more. She wanted his protective touch to embrace her entire body for the remainder of the day. She wanted to tell him… but she held her tongue, gave one more kiss goodbye and watched him leave.

Watching him leave was the hardest part of that entire day. With uncertainty looming over them both… she hated saying goodbye.

Natasha Romanoff had truly learned that goodbyes hurt like hell.


	10. The Fall

(Steve’s POV)

Bucky had returned that same night. Though he tried very hard to hide it, Steve could see the evident change in his mood. He seemed to smile more, and a slight blush still filled his cheeks (slightly).

“You’re gleaming,” Steve scoffed as they began to pack their things that night. The next morning they would leave again to eliminate another set of HYDRA bases, bright and early.

“I’m not ‘gleaming’,” Bucky rolled his eyes, but still looked away sheepishly once Steve had brought it up.

“Are so.”

“Shut up.”

Steve just gave him a knowing grin, then they went to sleep once “lights out” was called. But Steve could barely sleep, he had a question on his mind.

“I want to ask Peggy out but I don’t know how,” he explained after a moment. He heard Bucky shift in the cot next to him. “How did you ask Natasha?”

With that Bucky scoffed. “I think you asking out Peggy will be very different than how I asked out Natasha.”  
“Well? What should I do?”

There was silence for a moment, and Steve hoping Bucky wasn’t just going to ignore the questioned. He honestly needed to know.

“Do it your way Steve. Ask her like you would. Sure, I’d say be confident and sure of yourself, but if you stumble along the way, I don’t think she’d take offense or mind. If she likes you, she won’t turn you down,” the brunette started. “But…”

“But what?”

“But wait until after we take down these HYDRA bases, at least. Remember what you told me she said outside the bar?”

“Yeah,” Steve sighed. “After the war she’d go dancing.”

“Just wait, she’ll come around.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I have a feeling,” was his response.

Steve chuckled, almost doubting it, yet he still took Bucky’s advice. Had he ever steered him wrong? Not in the past. Yes, Steve would ask Peggy out, but once this war is over. He would just have to see to it that he survives through it.

o0o

(Bucky’s POV)

Over the course of a month, they had obliterated three other enemy bases. Two of which were rather small, the other decently large. Now, Bucky along with Steve and the rest of the Howling Commandos were setting their sights on a railroad track. A train was supposed to pass through the route that was located over an icy ravine. The mission would be risky, that was for sure, but if they could stop these dangerous weapons from getting into HYDRA soldiers’ hands, then it would be worth it. Then, only a moment later they learned that Doctor Zola was also on the train. Mission was a go.

Steve clasped on his helmet, grabbed a zip-line and waited for the signal.

“Go!”

Steve zipped down, while Bucky clasped his own zip-line onto the heavy duty cord. He went down right after, followed by Gabe Jones, a fellow commando. They touched down on the moving vessel, just making the time window. This freighter was moving to say the least, they were lucky they even landed nicely.

The three of them snuck quietly on the top of the train cars, keeping their balance so they wouldn’t fly off into the ledge below. Steve eventually found a ladder that was welded onto the side of the train, and Steve entered the train with Bucky following shortly. Meanwhile Gabe kept watch from the outside with his rifle loaded and ready. 

Bucky closed the door quickly, and then looked around the room. Weapons, lots of them. It filled the majority of the car. Tanks full of who knows what. Bucky didn’t exactly want to stick around and find out.

The two cautiously made their way to the door, Bucky with his gun drawn while Steve had his shield ready and in front of him. As they neared the entrance of the second car, Steve looked back. Without even talking, Bucky knew that meant continue with caution. Not like he wasn’t already doing that. This whole train gave him a bad feeling, he knew something was bound to go wrong.

Just as he had thought it, the heavy duty doors separating the two train cars closed, trapping Bucky in a total different room than Steve. He saw a look of panic cross over Steve’s face, but he just ignored it. A bigger threat was making his way towards the solider, shooting at him actually.

He fired his rifle back, shot after shot, yet it didn’t seem to do anything at all. Once he caught sight of the threats again, he shot five quick rounds, leaving one guard down. Quickly, Bucky ducked behind some heavy duty crates for cover, then shot again at the second guard.

Immediately, he heard the door open from the other end of the car and more guards entered the room. “Great,” the solider thought in his head, but still kept fighting. He had a system, if you could call it that. Shoot a few rounds, take cover, repeat. 

When he checked again, there was only one left. Damn pesk. He held out his gun, shot a three times then took cover on the other end where he could get a better angle on the threat. The sound of gunshots echoed madly, each pop piercing the silence. They went back and forth and back and forth, until his gun ran out of bullets. Darn it!

He just took cover behind the metal crates and prayed none of the bullets would hit him, until he saw Steve by the sturdy sliding door. He opened it, threw him his pistol, then charged forward towards the large cylindrical materials. It nearly hit the guard, yet the man had dodge it, and Bucky sent another round of shots towards him. Eventually, he shot the man dead.

“I had him on the ropes,” Bucky explained.

“Yeah, I know you did,” Steve replied. It almost caused Bucky to scoff. ‘Always had to be the one to swoop in and save the day, huh?’ he wanted to remark, but didn’t have the chance when a man with an odd looking weapon came charging at them. Stupid HYDRA tech.

“Get down!” Steve yelled and covered the solider with his shield. The weapon was fired and the blast was redirected at the train car walls, causing for a giant hole to be made on the side of it.

The force of the blast nearly knocked the wind out of Bucky, but quickly he stood up, ready to fight. He knew exactly what the man was gonna do. He was going to fire it again at Steve who was unarmed and vulnerable. Bucky had to do something!

Quickly, he picked up Steve’s shield and fired two shots at the man with the weapon, hoping to distract him. It seemed to work, and the man aimed the weapon at him, yet Bucky had miscalculated how strong that blast would be.

It pushed him out of the train car through the gaping hole. Steve’s shield went flying, and the next thing Buck knew, he was holding for his life on a metal bar. His heart was pound through his chest, adrenaline coursed through his veins. The train was moving fast, way too fast and the wind whipping around his body put his senses on overload. At first panic seemed to engulf him, but he forced himself to stay calm. He needed a way to get to safety, quickly, and the only way he would do that is if he had a level head.

He heard Steve call his name and looked over at the Captain. He was climbing out onto the outside of the train and Bucky wanted to yell at him to go back. It wasn’t worth it! But Steve persisted anyways, and Bucky tried to pull himself closer to the blonde.

“Grab my hand!” Steve yelled.

But the distance was too far. Struggling, he tried to get closer to Steve. He tried to grab his hand but… the metal bar broke off of the train. 

Bucky screamed as he felt his body start to free fall. His stomach flipped in a horrid way and the sound of wind and air hit his eardrums relentlessly.

He didn’t even hear Steve. He barely heard himself. This was it. He was going to die…

As he fell his thoughts were on Steve, on the Commandos, on Natasha. He’d never get to see her again. He closed his eyes and tried to envision her face, her kind laugh, bright smile and glimmering wondrous eyes, but it was too late…

Everything went black…

o0o

(Steve’s POV)

No. No! NO!

“Bucky!” 

He heard his scream as he fell. 

No! NO! NO!

Tears clouded Steve’s eyes as he gripped onto the metal bar that secured him onto the train. He was gone. Steve had failed, he couldn’t rescue him. Bucky was gone. Bucky was dead.

A sharp feeling of pain seeped through his soul and the feeling even continued into his stomach. It felt hard to breath for a moment. Bucky was his best friend, his brother. He was all the family he had left! Even when he had nothing, he had Bucky.

And now Bucky too was gone. Steve felt like he had nothing, nobody.

o0o

(Natasha’s POV)

Bucky was returning to camp! After Natasha had finished her mission in Berlin (which of course went successfully), she had returned to Peggy where they stayed in the base camp. Steve and the Howling Commandos were returning that day, which meant Natasha would see Bucky again.

Yet the men’s demeanor was off. Their faces gave a look of defeat, and immediately Natasha knew something was wrong; especially when Bucky wasn’t by Steve’s side. Not to mention that Steve seemed different. Very different.

But she wouldn’t assume the worst. Maybe the men had run into a setback and Bucky was still gathering his things. Yet when she got closer, Steve seemed to avoid her gaze. He eventually stopped right in front of her, and his eyes gave it away.

“No…” she breathed. Her voice trembled and already she felt her breath leave her lungs, like someone had just punched her in the gut, hard.

“I’m sorry Natasha,” he hung his head, still not looking at her.

“No..” she said again. Her breath caught in her throat. 

No, no, no, no, no. It felt like her heart was just ripped out of her ribcage, and she felt the world beginning to spin. Not him. Not him too. Natasha took in a shaky breath as she felt tears begin to fall from her eyelids and make their way down her cheeks. No, no, no. He couldn’t be!  
She guessed that Steve finally looked up, because she felt his arms wrapped around her, and she cried into his shoulder.

“I’m so sorry. I couldn’t save him. I…”  
“It’s not your fault, Steve,” she managed to croak out, but it was said quietly, weakly in between sobs. Her whole body was suddenly filled with hurt. “I need a drink,” she added. Natasha needed something to numb the pain. Something to numb the ache in her heart. Something to numb this new gash in her soul.

Steve only nodded, and they made their way to an abandoned building where, at least Natasha, hoped they wouldn’t be bothered.

She poured them both a glass of whiskey. A stronger whiskey than usual, but the burn didn’t even hurt, and she downed it easily. The two of them sat in silence as their own thoughts ran through their heads. It was paired with silent tears that still streamed steadily down Natasha’s face. She didn’t give a shit. It wasn’t like Steve would judge her anyways. 

“Everyone I become close with leaves me,” she stated after gulping down another sip of the alcohol. 

She watched Steve look up at her with questioning eyes. And she took it as her cue to continue.

“When I was ten, this boy, Alexi, found me in an alleyway,” she began. Her voice had almost returned to normal, yet there was a hint of a rasp in the back of her throat (probably from the crying). “He was the first person to show me true kindness. He taught me how to fight, how to survive. And… and he became my family. I fell in love with him.”

Natasha couldn’t help it, another tear trailed down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly then continued. Steve’s gaze stayed steady on her as he intently listened to her speak.

“I loved him. And he died, in a factory accident,” she took another swing of the whiskey. “I moved to New York, thought I’d never find love again. That I wouldn’t find another family. That he was the only one I would ever have. But then I met the Sokolvs. They’re gone now, in jail somewhere. They’re gone because of me.”

She swallowed another gulp of the whiskey, took in a deep breath, then let it out slowly, “And then I found you.”

Her eyes found Steve’s as she spoke. His normally bright blue eyes were clouded with sadness and guilt. 

“I found you and Bucky. And… and I loved him Steve…” now her breath hitched and another set of tears streaked down her face, “I thought I’d never find love again, but I did in Bucky and…”

A sob shook her body and she felt herself beginning to crumble.

“I love him…I never told him, but I love him. I never told him Steve!”

o0o

(Steve’s POV)

The look of hurt in her eyes. The way her breath shook and the tears streamed down her face. And then, over a drink, when she said she never told him she loved him. It put Steve through the wringer. So many emotions, too many emotions all at once.

Natasha seemed to crumble, break. She was so strong. One of the strongest women he had ever met, but here she was trembling in her seat. He made his way across the table, and wrapped his arms around her. He could feel her quivers and shivers. He could feel the ragged breaths shake through her body. He could feel the breath hitches and the tears that started to stain his uniform. 

Steve couldn’t help but feel his own breath to hitch, when letting the whole story settle on him. She had lost everything. EVERYTHING. He knew what it was like… but for Natasha? To not even have a family to begin with? And to just have everything ripped away from you over and over again? To loose every family you have ever known, not once, not twice, but now a third time? Steve didn’t know how much more she could take. 

Now thinking back, no wonder she was so hesitant around Bucky. No wonder she turned him down at first. She had already lost love once, she didn’t want to loose it again. But here she was, at a loss. It broke Steve’s heart.

Eventually, she calmed down. Her breaths returned to normal, her sobs died out, and the tears stopped flowing.  
“Thank you,” Steve heard her whisper in his ear. She released herself from his embrace, gave him a light kiss on the cheek (one that just barely grazed his skin), then began to leave the room.

“Wait,” he said before she could exit through the doorway. She paused and turned around. “I have something to give to you. I’ll be right back.”

Steve left the building and headed over to where the rest of the commandos had kept their supplies. He looked through the items until he found a wooden box. Steve shook it gently and the faint sound of paper shuffling from inside filled his ears. This was it.

He returned to see Natasha still standing in the same spot. Her eyes didn’t focus on one thing, she just stared into space; yet she did look at him once he entered the room, expectantly.

“He wanted you to have these, just incase,” Steve sighed. She took the box and said another small “thank you” before she left the building and was out of sight. She moved quietly, like a ghost. Even more so now.

He returned to his drink, but it wasn’t helping. He eventually noticed, he couldn’t get drunk.

o0o

(Natasha’s POV)

She didn’t know where she was going, nor did she care. She needed some time alone, just to process everything.

Eventually, Natasha found herself on the edge of the camp, overlooking a thick forest. She sat down on the long grass. It was still slightly wet from the morning dew. She took off the dog tag that hung around her neck and just looked at it.

The smooth metal showed her her reflection. She looked a mess. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying. She hadn’t reacted his way when Alexi died. And somehow she already felt that this pain was much stronger than before.

Her focus left that topic. Two men’s deaths weren’t something to compare. She loved them both. But Bucky? She saw a future with Bucky.

Eventually, she took the courage to open the box. Natasha didn’t really know if she wanted to open it or not, but Steve said that Bucky had wanted her to have it, so she did. Inside were pieces of paper folded up neatly, each one labeled with a date. They were letters, letters dated from during the time she had spent in Berlin for her mission. This picked one up, with her hands light shaking, and read it. It was one of the later ones he wrote, actually written the evening after their meeting.

Dear Natasha,

I’m so glad I got to see you today. Every word I said, I meant fully, not to mention that there were other things I wanted to say, just felt too shy to. Yes, I felt shy. Like how beautiful your hair looked. How your dress looked perfect on you. How your smile warmed me inside and out. And that kiss… I can’t get that kiss out of my head.

“Me neither,” Natasha spoke softly out loud, then kept reading.

I’m already looking forward to when I’ll hold you in my arms again. When I’ll feel your touch and see your smile. 

That made her breath catch. He wouldn’t get the chance to…

Just everything about you, Natasha. Steve says I’ve already fallen for you, and I can’t help but think he’s right. You’re always on my mind and it’s just unbearable to be apart from you and not know what you’re going through or if you’re alright. Someday I’ll give you these letters and you’ll see how much you mean to me. Writing them helps me feel less alone. Not that I really am, I have Steve. But if you were by my side, that would just be wonderful. I’ll see you soon.

-Bucky

She wiped away a tear, then another. 

“I wish you could’ve came back,” Natasha started, talking to herself and the letter. It was all she had left of him. “I wish we could’ve seen each other again.”

She sucked in a quick breath and folded the letter back again. Slowly, she read through each one, yet that last one… it seemed to be the most meaningful. And she kept it in her coat pocked. 

After a moment she just sat there letting his words sink in. She did this as she tried to remember, replay memories in her head. Tired to keep a grasp on him. Remember what he smelled like, what his lips felt like on hers, the sound of his voice. She sat there with her eyes closed for seconds, even minutes. Nearly half an hour had passed when something suddenly clicked in her mind.

They didn’t have his second set of dog tags. Her Black Widow charm hadn’t been returned. There was no proof of his death, just assumptions. Meaning…

“He could still be alive,” she thought out loud.

Natasha kissed the metal tag, leaving a metallic taste in her mouth, then slung the necklace back on and went to seek out Steve. She wouldn’t believe Bucky was dead until she saw his body. She wouldn’t give up hope. Not this time.

***

She found him with Peggy. They were talking in the same spot Natasha had been drinking with Steve. She stood in the doorway, waiting, and she must’ve been quiet because Peggy looked at her with surprise.

“I’ll go…” the agent said quickly and turned to leave. “The conference is in an hour. Be ready.”

The blonde nodded, and Natasha waited for Peggy to be out of sight before she spoke.

“I’m going to look for his body,” Natasha stated curtly.

Immediately Steve protested. “No Natasha, it’s too dangerous!”

“He could be alive,” she explained.

“With that fall? Into an icy ravine?” Steve shook his head.

“I won’t believe he’s dead until I find his body. I’ll go find it, with anyone else who’s willing to go with me.”

“And what’s Colonel Phillips gonna say about that?” 

“He won’t have a say.”

Steve gave her a confused look.

“Because you’re going to give me permission.”

He was still quiet and he shook his head slightly. Natasha advanced towards him.

“Please Steve.”

“No Nat, I can’t. It’s not my place,” he sighed.

“I will still go. I don’t need your blessing or anything like that, I just thought… you would be more willing to help.”

That got a reaction. At first Natasha thought he would blow up at her, yell at her, maybe even slap her across the face. But he did neither. His face seemed to fall and he sighed.

“Okay, go. Bring him back. But Sergeant Jones is going with you. He knows the location, and the terrain. Plus, he’s a man I can trust.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

Natasha began to leave, when Steve spoke again. 

“But Romanoff.”

She turned to face him again.

“Please don’t get yourself killed. I can’t loose you too.”

She gave him a small weak smile. He could probably even tell that it was forced. But at least it was a smile.

“I won’t.”


	11. The Last HYDRA Base

(Peggy’s POV)

Multiple officials, and both her and Steve included, listened to Colonel Phillips instruction. Schmidt, otherwise known as the Red Skull, was planning on bombing the US. Of course, they were there to stop it. Howard Stark’s news wasn’t any more cheerful.

“Scmit’s working with powers beyond our capabilities. If he gets across the Atlantic, he will wipe out the entire Eastern seaboard within an hour,” he reported, while taking a seat at the table.

Peggy sucked in a breath. A lot was at stake. So many people’s lives were at stake. Just trying to come up with a plan to stop this man, it…. it seemed like an impossible task. But they had to find a way. They HAD to. She would see to it.

Steve let the paper in his hand drop. It was the only sound in the silent room. Everyone seemed to be at a loss. Nobody seemed to have a plan that would work.

“How much time do we have?” one of the sergeants asked.

“According to these reports, in about 24 hours,” the colonel responded.

As if the room couldn’t get any more tense, it did. Peggy sucked in a breath. Already her stomach was fluttering with nerves and anxiety for what could happen by tomorrow. 

“Where are they now?” somebody else asked.

“HYDRA’s last base is here,” Colonel Phillips replied, while holding up the photo of a mountain range. “In the alps, 500 feet below the surface.”

He slapped the photo onto the table, where one of the commandos grabbed it and looked it over himself. 

“What are we supposed to do?” he asked. “Not like we can just knock on the front door.”  
It earned a chuckle from some of the men, but when Peggy looked over to Steve’s face, he was completely serious.

“Why not?” 

Everyone turned to face him. Everyone thinking the same thing: he can’t be serious. But Peggy knew Steve. And when his face looked like that, with that glimmer of hope in his eye, she knew he was set on making this mission succeed. That he would do everything in his power to stop HYDRA. And she also knew it wasn’t just because of Bucky. It was because he cared for everyone. It was because of his heart.

“That’s exactly what we’re going to do,” he finished.

o0o

(Steve’s POV)

The next thing Steve knew, he was on a motorcycle heading strait for the HYDRA base, alone. Well not exactly once a whole pack of HYDRA guards were on his tail, shooting an alien-like weapon at him. Thank God for his shield.

But he too had some tricks up his sleeve. He deployed a wire between two trees that successfully knocked three agents off their motorcycles. Still it wasn’t enough. He pressed another set of buttons to engage a set of rocket boosters that increased his speed. Not only that, but it left a trail of fire in his wake, burning not one but two guards.

Still there were two left, and now they were in front of him instead of behind. Steve increased his speed, grabbed a tiny bomb of the back of one of the guard’s motorcycles and let it explode right once he passed through. Perfect! Now he had nobody gaining on him.

Yet what lied ahead was an even bigger threat, and Steve knew it. The entrance of the base was just a couple hundred feet away, and already large blasts of blue was being fired at him. He readjusted his shield onto the front of his motorcycle, then continued driving while deflecting the shots.

As a heavy duty tank rolled out, Steve pressed one more button. Dang, he was running out of tricks. It sent two small bombs to fly straight into the tank, that made it, too, explode. Once he entered the premise of the base, he was met by a large amount of guards, yet if they thought that would slow him down, they were mistaken.

Steve jumped off of his motorcycle, hitting yet another button that eventually caused for the entrance to the base explode. He continued to fight the guards that came his way with just his shield and fists, which proved to be successful until two guards surrounded him with flame throwers. 

He could deflect and shield himself from bullets, but from fire? That he couldn’t do. So Steve surrendered, but only for that moment. He wouldn’t dare stop fighting.

A whole cluster of guard brought him into the base, holding his hands behind his back, and such ( you know the drill). Already Steve didn’t want to see Schmidt again, but I guess he couldn’t avoid the inevitable.

“Arrogance can be a uniquely American trait but I must say you do it better than anyone,” he began.

Steve just ignored the red terrorizer. He didn’t know a thing about Steve. Not a thing. Arrogance was different from pride, confidence and executing a mission successfully. And Steve had never pinned himself to be an arrogant person, not yet anyhow.

“But, there are limits…” the Red Skull continued, “to what even you can do, Captain. Or did Erskine tell you otherwise?”

“He told me you were insane,” Steve responded simply. 

He saw Schmidt’s face turn sort of surprised, as if he was trying to make sense of what Steve was saying .

“Ah..” he began, “he resented my genius and tried to deny me what was rightfully mine. But he gave you everything.”

Steve didn’t respond. Honestly he didn’t know exactly what to say. It wasn’t like the serum had gave him “everything”. Quite honestly he didn’t feel that much more powerful mentally, sure physically, but Steve didn’t feel “powerful”. Like he could control others, not like that was even something he had ever wanted.

“So… what makes you so special?”

At first Steve didn’t think he was being serious, yet when the man waited for an answer Steve couldn’t help but let out a scoff.

“Nothing,” he said with a slight smirk. “I’m just a kid from Brooklyn.”

Suddenly, Schmidt became furious. He punched Steve with a sort of force that could kill you if the blow hit a certain spot. Then slapped his face back again, and added a second punch to his stomach. Steve doubled over in pain as the last punched knocked the air out of his lungs. He wheezed, trying to regain his breath, and when he did, he looked up at Schmidt.

“I can do this all day,” he stated.

“Oh, of course you can, of course,” he said jokingly. “But unfortunately I’m on a tight schedule.”

Promptly, he took a pistol-looking gun out of his coat. Yet Steve knew this wasn’t an ordinary gun, no it was like the other HYDRA weapons, made with a powerful sort of ammunition.

But before Schmidt could fire the weapon, he looked over at the window to see the commandos heading straight for them on zip-lines.

“So am I,” Steve said through gritted teeth.

That’s when the panic began and all order turned to chaos. Steve swung his arms, trying to free himself of the restraints. While doing this, he used the HYDRA guards as protection from the blast of Schmidt’s pistol.

Three of the Commandos broke through the glass and began to fire at the HYDRA guards, and the Red Skull. With all the chaos, Schmidt quickly left the room, with Steve in pursuit.

o0o

(Peggy’s POV)

They were posted right outside of the HYDRA base, and soon enough they got the signal to attack. A whole fleet of soldiers made their way towards the underground building with guns blazing. The sound of gunshots filled the air. Every moment a “pop-pop” could be heard, and Peggy wasn’t just going to sit out on the action. 

She too grabbed a rifle and made a run for it as blue streaks passed by. The weapons were beyond dangerous, it left no wounded only dead. Not to mention it practically demolished them to dust. She made it a key ideal to dodge it.

They troops had eventually blown open an entrance into the base and men flooded inside. Yet they were met by more blue blasts from a gun Schmidt had in his hand. This wasn’t going to be an easy mission, that was for sure.

As they advanced she saw a man with a flame-thrower evidently using it on someone. Quickly, she fired and shot him down. As the troops moved through the hallways, Steve emerged from one, meeting her in the middle.

And there she stood, looking almost dumfounded at him. God, his blue eyes were really that irresistible, weren’t they? They seemed to just look at each other for a moment, before Steve finally spoke.

“You’re late,” he said.

Yes, damn those blue eyes. Once you looked into them, you just couldn’t escape. She took in a breath, then responded.

“Weren’t you about to… um…”  
“Right,” he nodded, then left running.

Was it stupid that she didn’t want him to run? She truly did enjoy his presence. Wait? Since when? Since forever! If it wasn’t for the war, would these feelings be so confusing? Stop it! Mission! Focus on the mission!

Peggy’s mind was everywhere to say the least, yet it seemed to dwell on one blonde solider in particular.

o0o

(Steve’s POV)

Of course Peggy would distract him from the mission at hand. Honestly, Steve didn’t expect anything else. She had that sort of presence, that sort of aura that could just stop you in your tracks. Steve had to admit, he had fallen under her spell.

But now wasn’t the time for that. Schmidt was getting away and he needed to save the East Coast. He needed to save the US. He needed to save the world. And that was a tall order, even for him.

Steve watched the immensely large bomber plane beginning to take off, already starting its taxi on the indoor runway. He started running. He had to catch that plane, he had to!

Yet the faster and farther he ran, the realization settled onto him that he couldn’t make it. That he wouldn’t make it!

Well, that was until help came along. And by help Peggy. Actually, it wasn’t just Peggy but Colonel Phillips as well, but Peggy already had the apple of his eye. 

“Get in!” the colonel commanded, and Steve jumped into the car.

Steve saw the large doors beginning to open as the plane continued to increase speed. They were so close but so far. Colonel Phillips pressed a button and soon the car increased speed, just catching up to the bomber. The solider stood up out of his seat, getting ready to make the jump.

“Keep it steady,” he said, yet right before he was going to make the leap, he heard her voice.

“Wait!” Peggy said over the rumbling engines.

Steve felt her hand grab at his shoulder, and as he turned towards her, he found his lips pressed against hers in a kiss.

It was everything Steve had imagined it to be. Tender, airy, and tasted like heaven. Steve felt like he was floating. Was this even real? Had he just kissed her? The one girl he couldn’t get out of his head for so long?  
After the broke the kiss, he looked at Peggy in awe. To even think she had feelings for him as well… it made him giddy. It made his heart leap.

“Go get ‘em,” she said with a smile. And it was a brilliant smile, one he wouldn’t ever get tired of.

Steve nodded, then looked to Colonel Phillips. 

“I’m not kissing ya,” he remarked while driving the car closer to the wheels on the underside of the plane.

Steve looked away, now towards the bomber. He got into a steady stance, clipped his shield onto his back and stood ready to make the jump. Carefully, he climbed into the hood of the car, ducked under a propeller, then jumped onto the wheel of the plane and held on tight.

o0o

(Peggy’s POV)

Call her impulsive, but Peggy just had to do it. With the possibility of this mission going undoubtedly wrong, she did it. She finally kissed him.

His lips were plump. Plumper than she would’ve thought, and warm too. She’d kissed a man before, yet not a man like Steve. And this kiss wasn’t anything like the others either. There was a feeling of promise in this kiss, like she didn’t want it to be their last. 

She then watched him jump onto the plane, and all uncertainty loomed above. All she could do was hope goes well up there. She would be on the coms to assure it would end that way.

o0o

(Steve’s POV)

Steve looked around the plane. Bombs. A set of bombs were loaded onto the plane, gigantic large ones at that. Each with a name painted onto them.

Chicago. Boston. New York.

Steve’s heart pounded wildly in his chest and his stomach seemed to drop. Just seeing the bombs there? It made the danger of this situation that much more real. It wasn’t just pawns on a map. This plane would bring destruction and death.

He noticed something else when looking at the bombs. They had cockpits. Why? As if to answer his question, he saw five or six HYDRA agents running across the metal bridges towards the placed bombs. They were going to pilot them. Steve knew he could’t let one get away.

Quickly, he ambushed them. Kicking one right off the bridge, the others he flung his shield at or fought them with punches. He still watched as a few of the men still made their way into the pilots seat, yet before they could fully get in, he dropped the bomb from right underneath their feet, letting it plummet into the sea below.

That gave him an idea. If he could drop all the bombs before they reached the US, the coast would be safe. They’d have no bombs left. Even with the two guards on his tail, Steve went from one post to another, dropping each bomb as he went. Boston first. Philadelphia second. Chicago third. Washington D.C. fourth and so on. He went down the bridge until each bomb was dropped. Well, nearly each bomb. All except for the one heading to New York. Before he could reach that last bomb, one of the pilots had already made it into the cockpit and was about to drop down.

Steve leapt at the bomb, and landed right over the cockpit. While loosing his shield in the process, he tried to open the glass latch yet it was nearly impossible with the pilot taking the three on a crazy ride, and other man trying to push him off of the vessel altogether.

After a few kicks, punches and a bit of luck, he had gotten the second agent off his tail and ejected the pilot from his seat. Now Steve sat in full control of the bomb, piloting it from the cockpit.

He steered it quickly towards the bomber plane, heading straight for where Schmidt was piloting from the large glass windshield. While avoiding the rainfall of blue blasts heading towards him, Steve eventually landed the bomb straight back into the loading bay. Quickly, he exited the cockpit and made his way up towards higher ground. It was only a matter of seconds before this thing would blow. 

He grabbed his shield and climbed his way up towards Schmidt, just in time as he heard a large boom. The force of the blow knocked half the engines out and threw Steve across the room, right at the Red Skull’s feet.

“Hello, Captain,” he sneered and aimed his pistol right at him. Quickly, Steve grabbed his shield and blocked the blast, then stood up onto his feet as he tried to swing at the man. Schmidt dodged most of the blows, and landed a few punches of his own onto Steve, yet not enough. 

With one forcefully shove with his shield, Steve knocked the Red Skull into the blazing inferno that was beginning to swallow half the plane, including half the propellers. 

Quickly, Steve sat in the cockpit chair, trying to gain some sort of control over the plane. He had never flown a jet before, not to mention a giant bomber. He needed guidance, her guidance. He opened his compass and looked at her photo he had framed into the lid. Most wouldn’t think a photo meant that much, that it would help his situation, but not to Steve. She meant everything. So he immediately turned on the coms, hoping Peggy would be on the other line. 

“This is Steve Roger. Can anybody hear me?” he asked.

Not even a second later, he heard a response.

“Steve?”

“Peggy, this plane is burning to bits, I need a safe place to land,” he explained quickly.

“What about the bombs?”

“They’re already dropped into the ocean, nobody should be harmed.”

“Good,” she replied, and Steve could just imagine her smile at the good news. “I have a spot, to your northwest. And ice-plain, only a few thousand miles away. We’re already dispatching a plane your way with medical. Land it slowly if you can.”

“I will,” he responded.

“Please Steve, I want to see you again. I want to take you dancing.”

Steve smiled at the voice and already began flipping switches, trying to start his decent.

“I would love nothing more.”  
“At the swing club down the street. Tomorrow, 7 o’clock, don’t be late.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Steve flicked the radio off and beamed. He had a date. Now the question was if he could survive to make it there on time.


	12. Captured

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let’s rewind a few hours. This chapter starts right after Natasha gets permission from Steve to go searching for Bucky. This part, where Natasha and Gabe take off, would be happing when Steve, Peggy and the rest of the officials are discussing how they’ll defeat HYDRA

(Natasha’s POV)

Steve must’ve relayed the message already to Sergeant Jones, because he was waiting by the makeshift tarmac with a hefty amount of supplies in tow. Heavy coats, rifles and other necessities were included.

“Sergeant Jones,” Natasha nodded, respectfully, and reached out to shake his hand.

“Please, just call me Gabe,” he replied. Then got straight to work, loading everything into the plane.

“Thank you, Gabe. For helping me with this. I know its risky and…”

“Any friend of Bucky’s is a friend of mine. And I’m more than willing to help,” he then took in a breath and paused what he was doing. “I saw him fall, you know? I was posted on the top of the train car when it happened. Still can’t shake his scream out of my head.”

The redhead nodded her head, solemnly almost. She didn’t want to imagine his scream. That would only make everything hurt that much more.

Quietly, they loaded the rest of the materials, then entered the plane and took off. It was a near silent ride. Gabe didn’t speak much and Natasha didn’t feel in the mood for small talk. Though as they approached a more mountainous terrain, he eventually spoke.

“You’re the spy, aren’t you?” he asked.

“The spy?”

“Your pin. It’s for the OSS. You’re the spy that Bucky talked about,” he added.

“Well, he shouldn’t have exactly told you that I’m a spy, but yes…” Natasha sighed.

“He trusted us. We all trusted him. We wouldn’t have told a soul, even if we were captured and tortured.”

“Thank you,” she said, yet with a hesitant tone. 

“He talked about you, not a lot, but enough that I’d remember,” Gabe continued. “Said you’re the most wonderful girl he’s ever met.”

Natasha took in a slow breath. Almost painfully slow. 

“I could say the same about him,” she replied.

He just nodded, not responding with words anyhow. Natasha was grateful. She didn’t know if she could continue to mask those trembles in her voice if he kept saying stuff like that. 

He landed the plane of a sort of plateau in the mountainous terrain. Then he got up from his seat at the cockpit and handed her a heavy coat and pair of boots.

“We have a long hike,” he stated as he gave her the items.

She put on the coat, then laced up the boots. They exited the plane, and to say it was cold outside was an understatement. It was freezing.

“You see the tracks?” he point up above him where there was a metal bridge looming overhead. She nodded her response.

“He fell that way. I tried to get us as close to the ground as possible, but we’ll still have to hike a ways,” he explained.

“You have to stay, I’ll hike,” Natasha stated.

He opened his mouth to protest, but Natasha beat him to it.

“Incase we need to call in Steve due to an issue, you should stay by the coms. I have a radio on me so I can signal you if there’s any trouble,” she explained.

“You sure about this?” he asked after a moment of quiet. 

“Yes,” she replied. Her face was completely serious.

Gabe nodded, “Good luck. Call if anything arises.”

“Will do.”

***

Natasha began her hike. The terrain was mostly ice and it caused her to slip and slide around on her feet. At least the coat and boots kept her decently warm. She continued down the ravine with caution, a rifle slung over her shoulder and a pistol in her coat pocket. She hoped that would be enough if she ran into any hostiles.

But who else would be down here? Why would anybody else be down here? Natasha still wanted to take the extra precautions just incase. 

The wind whirled in her ears and the fresh powder made her boots sink into the deep snow. Powder. That mean new snowfall, and a less likely chance she would find Bucky.

As she thought this, she must’ve gotten distracted, because she felt herself loose balance, slip on an ice ledge and tumble down a steep hill. She tried to curl herself into a ball so the chances of her body getting hurled into a rock would lessen. 

Luckily, she just rolled down the hill until she seemed to reach the bottom, unharmed. She wasn’t hurt, if anything just cold. Natasha’s coat was now covered in snow that started to melt into cold water, causing her to shiver. Plus she had lost her pistol on the way down.

Now, she was thrown off course. Who knew where she had ended up. Natasha considered trying to hike back up the mountain to stick to her course, but that would take forever. She decided to just asses her surroundings.

She was no longer directly underneath the bridge, that she could just barely make out, but instead was in a sort of valley. She was at its base. Looking around, Natasha observed the landmarks, none of them at all like how Gabe described. But once she turned around, an imprint in the snow made her heart stop.

It was an imprint of a man. That was blatantly obvious. Some of the snow was stained red. But the body wasn’t there. Instead there were drag marks through the snow, leaving a trail of blood.

Was he alive? That could be the only explanation. How else would he move?

Natasha reached for her radio to relay the news, but found that it was broken due to her tumble. She looked back up the ravine, then at the trail. For now, she had to follow the trail while it was still fresh. 

But before Natasha could even advance upon the marks, she was caught in an ambush. Six men, all HYDRA guards, surrounded her with rifles drawn. She reacted for her own, but before she could even touch the gun on her back, a bullet pierced her right shoulder, near her collar bone. She fell due to the pain, and before she could get up, she felt a force knock her out. And everything went black…

o0o

(HYDRA guards’ POV *if you want to call it like that?*)

The woman fell once one of the guards hit her with a tranquilizer. Now she laid limp in the snow, her crimson red hair splayed across the ground.

“Should we kill her boss?” one of the men asked.

“No,” the HYDRA lieutenant made his way to the fallen woman and opened her coat. He looked at her jacket, looked at the broach that was pinned over her heart. “She’s a spy. Part of the OSS. She could be useful to us.”  
“And why do you think she was even down here?” the same man asked again. That earned glares from the rest of the crew. You weren’t supposed to just chit-chat like this when taking in a prisoner.

The lieutenant opened her jacket a bit more, enough to see the necklace that laid on her chest. He ripped it off of her neck and showed it to the rest of the guards.

“Because she’s a dear friend of James Buchanan Barnes.”

The men just stood there, waiting for the command. 

“Take her inside.”

And they did just that, though this time, the men carried the limp body instead of dragging it.

***

“What’s this?” Zola asked once he saw the woman the guards had carried in.

“We found her by the perimeter, sir,” the lieutenant explained.

“And what is she doing here?”

“She’s a spy sir, she could be of use to us.”

“Pft. Anyone could be of use to us, as long as we have the right brainwashing. I chose Barnes because he already had an incredible amount of strength and skill set. Just add a few more tricks up his sleeve and he’ll be the perfect weapon. Her? She’s just his girlfriend that tired to do her part. Nothing notable. Discard her,” the scientist huffed.

“She did the Berlin infiltration,” the lieutenant argued. 

That caused Zola to stop in his tracks. “Can you be so sure?”

“I’ll never forget those eyes. She double crossed me in my face, lied without a tell. We kept eyes on her and she still succeeded. Didn’t leave a trace behind. The girl is already skilled. Imagine what the Red Room would do with her? And then if you enhance her? You’d get paid a big buck my friend.”

Zola stood there and thought for a moment. He eventually agreed. “Yes, that does sound like a good idea. Better use than just killing her off. But I don’t have enough of the serum for them both. I’ll need time to make a copy. Barnes’ first operation should still be on schedule, yet not the full treatment. The second one is more complicated and without the full dose of the serum it’ll have to be postponed.”  
“Shouldn’t be a problem,” the lieutenant replied. “We don’t need him until next month anyways.”

He paused for a few seconds, probably calculating how long it would be before their plan fell into place, then looked over to his guards. “Put her in a cell, alert me once she wakes. We’ve got unfinished business to take care of.”

The guards nodded and dragged her into an empty cell. The one right beside Sergeant Barnes.

o0o

(Bucky’s POV)

A loud clank woke him up. Bucky found himself in a cell, laying on the cold ground. 

Where was he? Hadn’t he died? 

The solider squinted, trying to adjust his eyes to the light. Yes, he had fallen. He had fallen from a train, but then was rescued? No more like captured. He saw Zola’s face look down on him. He felt him patch up his new stump of an arm.

And now he was sitting in a cell. He looked around, trying to assess the situation. Trying to figure out a way to get out of this place, but when he looked to the right, towards the cell next to his, he saw a far too familiar person laying in a heap on the ground.

No, he was dreaming, wasn’t he. She wasn’t here. She couldn’t be here. She was safe, back at camp and safe. But no, that was her coat, that was her hair. And he recognized the pin on her jacket.

He moved closer to her cell, praying she wasn’t dead. God, if she was dead he didn’t know what he would do. He tried to watch for her breaths, he tried to reach her through the metal bars but she was too far away. Just the torture of not knowing if she was dead or alive was killing him.

Eventually a guard entered the hallway, and Bucky backed up a bit. If they didn’t know his feelings towards Natasha, then they may not use her to get through to him. Revealing the least amount of information was key. 

“He’s awake sir,” the guard said over a radio.

“And the girl?” a voice spoke back.

“Still unconscious,” he reported.

There was silence for a moment, then the radio cracked to life.

“I’ll be there in a minute.”

Bucky eyed the guard, trying to assess him as well. But the helmet he was wearing left no way for Bucky to try to gage his expression. All he had as clues were his words. They said unconscious, not dead. 

That was good news. Great news. Bucky had to hide his sigh of relief. But what did they want from them? Information? Were they holding them hostage for ransom? Bucky didn’t know.

A taller man wearing a German uniform entered the hallway only minutes later. His jacket was adorned with medals and badges, probably for each horrible war crime he had committed. One pin in particular caught his eye, it had the symbol of an octopus, the symbol of HYDRA.

“Hello Sergeant Barnes,” the man said with a thick German accent once he stood in front of Bucky’s cell. “It’s an honor to have you here, really. One of the Howling Commandos? One of Captain America’s right hand men? You would be considered a war hero if you ever went home.”

Bucky stayed quiet, looking at the man defiantly. The less he spoke, the less he would give away which meant it would be better for Natasha’s situation and probably better for Steve’s as well. If they wanted him for information on the future attacks, he already knew he wouldn’t share anything.

“But I don’t have plans of letting you go home. Not like I have a decision in the matter. You’re HYDRA’s now.”

He was HYDRA’s? What did that even mean? Almost absentmindedly, Bucky must’ve looked over at Natasha, because the man in uniform followed his gaze.

“Her too. But we have different plans for your little spy. I’m so very sorry to break you two apart,” he taunted.

Bucky wanted to strangle him, rip him apart, shoot him dead. But he did nothing, just decided to ask a question calmly.

“How did you find her?”

That caused for the man to chuckle and he began to pace in front of the line of cells slowly. “That’s a funny story, actually. She was wandering about in the valley of the ravine, near where we found you. Probably in search of someone…”

He let his voice fade as he took something out of his coat pocket. Immediately Bucky knew what it was, her necklace with his dog tag attached. It took a lot more to calm his tempter this time. The man could probably see that he was aggravating the solider, because he continued his taunts. While pulling out another item from his other pocket he added.

“You two really did seem to make a nice pair. The solider and the spy,” he lifted up the second item to show to Bucky. It was his own dog tags, the one with her Widow charm attached. Immediately, his hand went to his chest, just to be sure he wasn’t imagining it. That caused the man to chuckle. “Too bad it had to end this way.”

He began to walk away, as if leaving. Figures that the man just came down here to taunt the poor solider. To make him fume and want to fight, yet there was nothing he could do about it.

“Wait!” Bucky stopped him. He wanted to at least get a bit of information out of this whole interaction. That man wasn’t the only one that could do the questioning. 

“What’s the big plan? What do you want with us?” he asked.

The man turned on his heels to face Bucky, and a smug grin grew on his face.

“With you, that’s more so the scientists’ decision. With her? Let’s just say we have some unfinished business to take care of. Nobody double crosses me and gets away with it,” he finished, then left the room, followed by the guard.

Only once Bucky was alone again did he let his head drop into his hand and bring his knees to his chest. It was his fault she was here. She came looking for him. And now? Now she was in danger and there wasn’t a thing he could do to protect her.

That feeling of helplessness, that he couldn’t even keep her safe? It tore through his heart and burned through him wildfire. He had failed. Even though it was indirectly, he had hurt the person he had loved the most.

o0o

(Natasha’s POV)

Her head hurt. Her shoulder hurt. Her whole body hurt.

Where was she?

Natasha groaned, trying to sit herself up.

She was ambushed in the ravine. And then what? Nothing. Everything had went black. Where in the world was she now?

The ground was cold, but she wasn’t outside. No, she was in a sort of cell. She looked around, trying to piece together how she had got here when she froze.

“Bucky?”

He was sitting there, in the cell next to her own. He seemed defeated, his head in his… hand? His other arm was gone completely, just a stump. He looked up, and shifted his position so he was both facing her and as close to the metal bars that separated them apart as possible.

“Natasha,” he responded, and held out his hand to her.

She too shifted so she was leaning against the bars. Once she grabbed his hand, already she felt a surge of relief flow through her.

“Your alive,” she whispered with a kind smile.

He couldn’t help but to smile back, yet it seemed sad. Sad and heartbroken.

“Why did you come here Natasha?”

Her expression quickly turned serious.

“I wasn’t going to assume you were dead, Bucky. No. I needed to see you,” she gripped his hand tighter, trying her best to warm it. But she assume that both their hands were freezing from the cold.

“I don’t know what they’re up to, but it’s not good. That man that walked in here only a moment ago, he said that we were HYDRA’s now. They have a plan and they’re going to use us. I know it… and…” he swallowed a lump in his throat.

“And what?” she added. 

“And the man said he had unfinished business with you, Nat. I can’t let you get hurt because of me! You’re going to get hurt because of me,” Bucky said quickly, as if in a panic.

“Shhh,” she quieted him down while reaching up to stroke his cheek. “We’re going to figure out a way to get out of here, okay? We will. And don’t you dare think that you put me in danger. Whatever happens to me is my own fault.”

He shook his head and looked away, but that only caused for Natasha to grip his face tighter, forcing him to look at her. 

“It is not your fault. You hear me?”

He still looked at her with a hopeless expression. His eyes were glossy, lined with tears yet to fall, and they looked straight into her soul.

“We’re going to be…”

Before Natasha could even finish the statement that she had said far too many times in her head, Bucky had pressed his lips onto her own. There was just enough space between the bars for him to do it. And it wasn’t comfortable to say the least, yet it gave Natasha a feeling of reassurance that she didn’t even know could be given during this situation.

The kiss was short-lived and only lasted for a few seconds before they parted. They both leaned in again and their lips were only millimeters away from touching when they heard the door at the end of the hallways unlock. It caused for Natasha and Bucky to look away from each other, and now on the new presence in the room. 

Natasha recognized the man immediately. He was the lieutenant she “served” during her mission in Berlin. The one she stole information from. He looked at the two of them, then nodded at Natasha’s cell.

She stood as four guards entered the cell. Her stance ready to fight.

That seemed to make him laugh. “I wouldn’t even try fighting your way out of this one, Natalia.”

Natasha’s head snapped up to his (and she didn’t know this but Bucky had the same reaction). 

“Oh yes. We traced your origin to some files in a Russian orphanage. Your true name being Natalia Romanov. Is this true?” he didn’t even wait for a response before continuing. “Not to ruin the surprise, but be ready to return to your home country in a month. They have a very special place for you there.”

Stunned, she looked at him in horror as the guards surrounded her and forced her to her knees while binding her arms behind her back. They then pulled here out of the cell. 

“No!” Bucky protested. He was standing now, his hands gripping the bars, rattling the metal door, trying anything to stop them. Not like it was any use. “No! Natasha!”

She was brought in front of the lieutenant, where first she gave Bucky one last look. One last nod, in an attempt to assure him that she was going to be alright. One last attempt of a smile, to let him know what she felt towards him. Then she faced the man she had crossed.

She spat on his boots. And not a second later she felt his hand slap across her face hard. Yet Natasha didn’t whimper or cry. No, she did neither. She gave him a smirk and taunted him in German.

“Please, an old lady has slapped me better than that,” she sassed. Which only earned her a harder slap to the same cheek. 

“That’s only the start of it. I have much more in store for you, you rat,” he responded, also in German before signaling the guards to take her away.

o0o

(Bucky’s POV)

Just watching the man slap her was enough to send a whole new feeling of rage through his belly. How. Dare. He.

But Natasha didn’t even give the man the reaction he was expecting. She turned towards him, gave him a smirk then said something in German. It only caused for her to be slapped again, harder this time, and taken away.

Now all Bucky could do was pray that she would be alright. That she would live. That they wouldn’t hurt her badly. God, if they hurt her, really hurt her, he wouldn’t forgive himself.

o0o

(Gabe’s POV)

It had been nearly three hours. Nothing had came through the radio. No signal had been made. And the sergeant was worried. He tried to contact her again, but was only met with radio silence.

Instinct told him something was wrong. She would’ve been given at least some sort of news by then. Should he contact Steve? Agent Carter? Colonel Phillips? Or should he just wait.

Gabe decided to wait, at least another hour.

***

Two more hours had passed. He decided it was time to contact Steve.


	13. The Radio Call

(Peggy’s POV)

Peggy waited anxiously for Steve’s return. He had been safely retrieved from the wreckage and was returning back to London. She would’ve been all joy if it wasn’t for a radio call that had came through only moments after Steve had ended his talk on the coms.

“Anyone. Can anyone hear me?”

The signal was filled with a great deal of static, yet it was still clear enough to understand.

“Yes, we hear you,” she responded.

“Agent Carter, is that you?”

“Yes, who are you?”

“Sergeant Jones. I think there may be trouble.”

Trouble? What was he talking about?  
“Sergeant, I don’t understand. What is the issue?”

“You don’t know?”

“Don’t know what?”

“Steve allowed Natasha to go search for Sergeant Barnes’ body. I assisted her on the mission.”

Why wouldn’t Steve tell her this? It was against protocol. This was madness.

“No, I was not aware of this side mission. But onto the bigger problem. Sergeant, what is the issue?” she sighed.

“Natasha went on the hike down the ravine alone. It’s been five hours since I’ve last made contact with her.”  
Peggy sucked in a breath.

“She had a radio?”

“Yes, and she said she’d use it. I can’t reach her and the signal has gone out. Should I search the area?”

She couldn’t loose Natasha. What was the girl thinking?! What was Steve thinking?!

“No, wait. We’ll put a team together and investigate this properly. Stand by, Sergeant Jones.”

“Yes, ma’am.”  
Peggy put down the radio and faced Colonel Phillips.

“If you were wondering where Sergeant Jones and Agent Romanoff were, they’re in the alps, by that ravine we reported Sergeant Barnes to be dead,” she explained.

“And the reason for this?” he questioned.

“To find the body.”

“Dear Lord, Romanoff is gonna loose her job after this,” he muttered.

“That is if she’s even alive,” Peggy responded while sucking in a breath. “She hasn’t reported back in five hours. Never a good sign.”

The colonel only nodded, then sighed. “You lead this one, I need a drink.”

“Yes, sir.”

Now, only hours later, she watched as the plane Steve was in touched down. When she saw his blonde head of hair, a surge of relief flowed through her and she couldn’t help but smile.

He ran up to her and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. Then she felt him give her a kiss on her cheek.

When he put her down, his expression changed, probably sensing that something wasn’t right.

“What’s wrong Peg? We’ve won! We can go home,” he stated.

“You let Natasha go on a side mission? To recover Bucky’s body?” she asked almost accusingly in response.

Steve looked like he was caught in a trap, his expression was a mix of shock and defensiveness. He then spoke quickly, trying to explain himself, “She said she wouldn’t believe he was dead until she found him. She was going to go without my permission… I just…I sent Gabe with her to help and…”

“Well, Gabe had just radioed in and said he hasn’t heard from her in five hours. And that was a few hours ago.”

Steve didn’t respond, only looked at Peggy with a panicked expression on his face.

“We’re loosing time. She may be dead by now thanks to you.”

She saw Steve’s reaction, his face seemed so hurt and Peggy wished she could just take the words back. He didn’t want Natasha to die any more than she did. And now she was left with the guilt. 

o0o

Those last words Peggy had said hit him like a train. He let out a shallow breath. It hurt, but she was right. It would be his fault if Natasha died. All his fault. Loosing Bucky was hard enough. Loosing Natasha wasn’t an option.

“Let’s go,” he said with all seriousness.

“Steve, I didn’t mean…”

“I know Peg. But it’s the truth. Now I need to find her before it’s too late,” Steve explained.

“I’m coming with you.”

“No, it’s too dangerous. I’m best fit to handle this situation. Plus, it’s my mess. I need to fix it.”

“Not alone.”

He saw the begging in her eyes. Her beautiful soft brown eyes. But Steve couldn’t risk her too.

“Yes, this time Peggy, I have to go alone,” he sighed.

“It’s non-negotiable Steve. You do have to take orders from me? Remember?” she rolled her eyes, then walked ahead of him towards the tarmac. “Besides, without me there, who else is going to save your arse.”

Steve couldn’t even argue if he wanted. She was too damn stubborn and he loved her for it. 

o0o

(Bucky’s POV)

Nearly half an hour had passed until he heard the door from the hallway open. But it was just a guard making his routinely rounds. His stomach only seemed to drop lower and lower into his stomach as more time passed by. He tried his hardest not to think of all the things that could be happening at this moment, since his brain would always come up with the worst scenarios. Always landing on the worst forms of torture. Bucky just wanted to see her again. Fifteen minutes later (though it felt like much longer), he got his wish. 

She was unconscious again, being carried in by one guard with her wrists still cuffed together, this time in front of her body instead of behind her back. Unceremoniously, they dropped her body onto the ground, then tied the cuffs onto another chain that was attached to the wall. Bucky was just thankful that the guard left quickly and that the man (which he found to be a lieutenant) didn’t return with his taunts. Not to mention the fact that the guard had dropped her near the cell wall between them, so if he aligned himself a certain way, he could stoke his hand over her cheek. 

“Natasha…” he felt his voice crack as he tried to hold in a sob. She didn’t look good. From what he could see, her skin was littered with bruises, some of which were already swelling. A large gash was present at her hairline, still bleeding continuously. And if he touched her cheek a certain way, he could feel small cuts, like incisions to her skin. “Please wake up, Nat. Please.”  
He sat there, his hand caressing her cheek and hair for over half an hour before she woke again. She sat up slowly. Bucky could tell that she was trying to hide the pain, but he noticed how she inhaled sharply while readjusting her position. It was evidently there. 

“What did he do to you?” he questioned, his voice soft.

She just shook her head and looked at the ground. “The normal things you would do to a prisoner.”

“Natasha I want to know what he…”

“It could’ve been worse Bucky. It still could get worse,” she explained. Her green eyes found his, yet they had seemed to have lost their sparkle, that gleam. She was in pain, he could tell. 

“I can’t loose you Natasha,” he stated after a moment, while still stroking her skin. She leaned into his touch and kissed the palm of his hand.

“And I can’t loose you either,” she responded. Her voice was quiet with a hint of a rasp. “I love you James Buchanan Barnes.”

She said it so softly. With such care. And when he looked into her eyes, that glimmer was back. He felt her pupils search his soul. He felt her gaze warm him, like her words just had, giving him a new strength he didn’t think he’d need. But now having it, he didn’t know if he could live without it.

“I never thought I’d get to tell you, after I heard…” she continued to whisper. He felt her lips graze against his palm. It tickled his skin. “But you’re here. You’re alive. And I can tell you. Even if we never make it out of here…”

“We’re going to get out of here, Natasha,” he explained, yet even Bucky wasn’t so sure if that was true. He wanted to believe it, but with how things were looking… this wouldn’t end well.

“If we don’t. I wanted you to know. I love you,” she stated again, this time with a soft smile, “with all my heart.”  
“I love you too, Natasha. I will forever.”

“Forever huh?”

“Until death do us part.”

o0o

(Natasha’s POV)

Natasha wanted to kiss him again. It was like a high, those kisses. She couldn’t get enough of them. Yet how she was seated, with her wrists literally tied, it was nearly impossible. So instead she rested her head into his hand and just sat there in silence.

His touch was more than enough to comfort her anyways. It provided this protective feeling over her that she liked, almost craved. And she felt that she gave him this strength as well. They were balanced, perfect for each other. And Natasha soon let her thoughts wander on what life would be with him. A future. Them. Together. 

It was false hope. So what? Any hope right now would be worth it. After the beating she had went through, she needed something to distract her from the evident pain throbbing through her ribcage. 

“When the war is over…” she started. Her voice was quiet, as if she was in a daze, yet Bucky had heard her.

“When the war is over we’re going to travel to the Rhine. Where fairytales have been written,” he started. “We’ll travel on a ferry across the river. And you’ll wear a beautiful pastel summer dress that will blow perfectly in the wind.”

“And then what?” she sighed, leaning against his body through the thick metal bars. She could already feel his body heat start spreading onto her. It was a blissful feeling really. Her head could only focus on that, his touch, and nothing else. No matter how many times she had felt it, it gave her the same reaction, a flutter in her belly and a skip in her heartbeat.

“Then we go to Norway. And we’ll stay in a small cabin where the worries of the rest of the world can’t reach us. Every night, we’ll go outside and lay on the ground to look up at the stars. You’ll teach me about all the constellations that you know..”

“Who said I knew any constellations?”

“I had a feeling you would.”

She smiled to herself. Somehow, he had managed to make her smile, even as they were trapped in this horrid place. Natasha didn’t admit it then, but he was right. She did know some constellations.

“And then, one night, we’d go out and there’ll be the northern lights…”

“And we’ll dance under the lights.”

“Dance?”

“Yes,” she replied, with her lips upturned into a wistful smile. She beamed at Bucky, causing him to lightly smile back. “Dance. Without music. I’d quietly hum a song and we’d dance under the lights.”

“What song?”

Natasha looked away, trying to think of one.

“I Had the Craziest Dream, by Harry James. I’ve always liked that song.”

She felt Bucky nod his head and hum a response. His hum ran through her entire body, like a gentle rumble.

“And after we leave Norway?”

“The world is ours to explore,” Natasha replied.

“I like that.”

“Yeah?” Natasha sighed, and closed her eyes as she rested her cheek against his shoulder. “So do I.” 

o0o

(Steve’s POV)

In the matter of hours, Steve and Peggy had landed the plane on a cleared out section of the ravine. He recognized the jet Gabe had taken immediately and landed on the same plateau. It was no simple landing, and Steve nearly crashed the plane, yet they had just made it.

“We should’ve gotten a proper pilot,” Peggy remarked.

Steve just shook his head. “You’re killing me Peg.”

That earned him a light punch to his arm, but he knew it was playful, just by the smile she wore on her face.

“Let’s check in with Sergeant Jones. Maybe he has at least a lick of information we can use to start our search,” she spoke as they put on their snow coats, boots, and loaded their weapons. A small pistol for Steve (plus his shield) and a heavy duty rifle for Peggy. 

“Sounds like a plan,” Steve nodded.

o0o

(Peggy’s POV)

“Her tracks may still be seen in the snow, but other than that I have nothing,” Sergeant Jones explained.

“What about radio signals? When was the last time she called in?” Steve inquired.

“I never got a radio call from her. She just left and that was it,” the man shrugged his shoulders.

Peggy took in a sharp breath. Anything could’ve happened to Natasha. She could be dead due to frostbite at the moment. Peggy knew they had to start their search.

“We’ll check for tracks first, but we have to hurry. Nearly eight hours since she left the plane is far too many,” she explained.

“It’s too dark for you to even seen anything at this hours,” Gabe protested. 

Peggy glared at the man. “We don’t have the option to wait until daylight. She could be dying for all we know. If we don’t act now, we’ve lost one of our best spies and an amazing woman. She didn’t deserve this.”  
Both men just stared at Peggy. Both expressions seemed pitiful, yet Steve’s was filled with more understanding.

“Well? What are we waiting for?” 

The agent began to walk out of the jet, before Gabe added, “Take these!”

She turned right as he threw a radio her way. He threw one to Steve as well, which he caught easily and was already testing.

“Call if anything comes up. Good or bad news. I need to know what we’re dealing with,” he explained.

“Will do, Sergeant,” Peggy responded with a nod, then left the plane with Steve following her shortly behind.

o0o

(Steve’s POV)

“No flashlight? We’ll barely be able to see the tracks, if there are any,” Steve sighed as they began to walk through the snow. It all seemed old, no fresh powder, which was a good sign.

“I’m beginning to wonder if you’re stupid,” Peggy laughed. “If we use a flashlight and there’s hostiles they’ll see us.”  
“True,” Steve shrugged. 

“And you’re the one who has enhanced senses, wasn’t sight one of those?”

“It’s not like I have night vision, Peggy,” he scoffed.

“Just checking,” she chirped with a smile.

The blonde shook his head and grinned sheepishly. Stop flirting with her, you’re on a mission! He scolded himself, yet he just couldn’t seem to help it. 

They did eventually come across some tracks, and followed it down the slope. The footprints looked to be Natasha’s size, so they seemed to be on the right track, Yet as they trekked farther and farther down the side of the ravine, Steve was becoming less sure of himself. Especially once the tracks had stopped altogether.

“It just ends,” he muttered, looking at where the tracks had stopped.

“Not necessarily,” Peggy replied, kneeling in the snow. She was looking at some sort of imprint that Steve hadn’t noticed before. He had just thought it was a pile of snow, yet once he looked closer he saw that it was skid marks, like she had slipped and fell.

Peggy looked over the slope, squinting down at the valley below.

“She must be there. Took a fall and slid down to the bottom. If her head hit a rock or something like that…”  
“It could be the reason she hasn’t responded to the radio calls,” Steve finished Peggy’s train of thought.

“But how’ll we get down?”  
The captain looked at her with a smirk before removing his shield from his back and placed it on the snow.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said, not even making an effort to mask her disapproval.   
“What? It’s the best way I could think of. Unless you want to try to hike your way down without slipping on ice. Our boots weren’t exactly made for this sort of terrain,” Steve argued, already sitting on the shield like it was a sled.

“Fine,” she gave in, and also sat on the shield.

“Hold on tight.”

“You better not get us killed.”

And with that they were off, sliding down the hill. They had nearly crashed into a tree, twice and a rock three times, yet the captain and the agent made it to the bottom safely.

But once Steve stood up and clicked his shield back onto his back, he heard something. The sound of boots crunching over snow. Heavy crunching. Natasha was light on her feet and Peggy was still getting up off the ground. This wasn’t either of them, this sound like men’s footsteps.

“Get down,” Steve whispered urgently, and they both took cover behind a bush. The crunching grew closer and closer, until it stopped and then began fade away. They weren’t alone in this forest.

“I heard footsteps. Like army boots trudging in snow,” Steve explained once he felt the coast was clear.

“Could be Natasha?” Peggy asked.

“No,” the blonde shook his head. “Too heavy. We should investigate.”  
“Right behind you, captain.”

Steve nodded at the woman by his side, then drew his pistol and slowly began to creep towards where he had heard the sound. They had made it only a few feet farther when they heard a sound, a voice.

“Night shift 6, clocking in. Parameter secure,” it said into a radio.

“Night shift 7, ready for duty,” a response came back.

Steve peeked around the tall pin tree he was using for cover. The man talking was only a few feet away. He could do two things. One, capture him and make him talk (obviously something sketchy was going on); or two just strike him down with his shield and investigate himself. Option two seemed safe. If that man was armed and had back up, questioning him maybe wasn’t the best idea.

“Cover me when I cross the clearing,” Steve whispered to Peggy.

“What?” she snapped her head towards him.

“Trust me.”

Steve threw his shield at the man. It was a perfect hit, straight to the head, and Steve crossed the clearing to reach him. He dragged the man away, back to where Peggy was located, when he heard a grunt. Then gunshots.

“Peggy!” Steve called, not too loudly, yet loud enough for her to hear.

He turned the corner to find her standing above a man’s dead body.

“Really, the coward thought he could sneak up on me,” she scoffed. “Who are these people anyway.”

Steve looked over at the man he was dragging, then the man Peggy had shot. They both wore a pin. A dark red pin of an evil octopus. The helmets, the gear, this could only mean one thing.

“HYDRA.”


	14. The VERY Last HYDRA Base

(Peggy’s POV)

Steve was right… but they had killed HYDRA. Eliminated it. How were they still operating? Their leader was dead, their main resources had been destroyed, and there were no more bases. None except this one.

“I thought we destroyed HYDRA. I though that we annihilated the last base. This wasn’t even on the maps,” Peggy spoke.

“Well, these people seem to never give up, which means neither am I,” Steve responded while stripping the guard of his clothes and putting the uniform onto his own body.

“What’re you doing?” Peggy asked. Was he crazy?

“I’m going to investigate the base, from the inside,” he shrugged.

Peggy let out a slow breath. He couldn’t be serious. Missions like that got people killed, especially if they weren’t prepared.

“It’s risky Steve. You could be found, easily.”

“I…” he shook his head and took in a breath before continuing. His blue eyes found her brown, and she had never seen him more determine. “I know she’s in there, Peg. I know it. Her tracks went cold in that clearing, completely. That can only mean one thing…”

“She was captured.”

“Exactly. Now are you coming with me, or…”

“Yes,” she stated, maybe a bit too quickly. That earned her a glance from Steve. “What? At least I got some training on how to be a spy. You on the other hand will have an incredibly challenging time pulling this off.”  
“Pft,” Steve scoffed. “How hard can it be?”

o0o

(Natasha’s POV)

They only got ten minutes of peace. If being locked in separate cells in a HYDRA base was considered peace. At least then they were alone, but still together. Natasha even let her guard down and began to doze off with her head resting on his shoulder, yet that sense of “peace” didn’t last long.

A swarm of guards entered the hallway. Too many guards. And the lieutenant wasn’t in sight. That could only mean one thing, they were coming for him. Natasha got up on her feet, and glanced at Bucky. He wore a defensive expression on his face, but that wasn’t all, Natasha could see the fear. And she bet he could see it too in her own eyes.

They threw open his cell gate, aimed multiple rifles at him, then entered.

“What’re you doing?” Natasha questioned as they cuffed him and began to lead him away from his cell. The rifles were still loaded and aimed at his face. They didn’t seem hesitant to shoot, if he made one wrong move… oh God.

“What’re you going to do to him?!” she asked again, yelling this time. Her plea was met with no response as she tried to tug on her own chains. It only made the metal from her handcuffs dig into her skin. She stopped once she saw his face turn towards her.

He didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. She knew what he would tell her. Be strong, don’t die, survive for me. And… I love you. It was a sad “I love you”. One that would usually be paired with tears and sobs. One that you would say before death.

He still looked at her, held her gaze, until a guard forcefully turned his head forward and led him out of the room. The door closed with a slam, and its echo bounced against the empty walls.

The lieutenant hadn’t give anything away. Not really. Believe her, Natasha had tried. Tried very hard to get a lick of information throughout that whole beating and torture. Yet the lieutenant hadn’t talked much, unless he was hurling slurs and curses at her face. And it had surprised her. He didn’t even ask for any information on the Allies troops. Nothing about what they were planning, none of that. No, he just wanted payback. She could feel it, he wanted revenge.

So, really, Natasha had no clue what was happening to Bucky at this moment. Would he be tortured too? Or worse…

No, she wouldn’t think about the “or worse”. She would see him again. Natasha believed that.

o0o

(Bucky’s POV)

He had kept his eyes on her for as long as possible. If that was his last look at Natasha, he wanted it to be a long one. He looked over her form: determined, strong and powerful. He eyed her lips: soft, delicate yet passionate as well. He observed her hair, how the auburn red strands cascaded in tendrils over her shoulder and framed her face. He found her eyes: mesmerizing, emerald green and so telling. He memorized every beautiful part of her. He wanted her to be the last thing he thought about when he met death. And by the way things were looking, it seemed that death was coming.

Bucky knew how things went. He had seen some of his fellow soldiers being marched to execution in that other base in the Austrian Alps. This felt exactly like that. Yet once the guards had opened the door and led him into the room, Bucky became confused.

This wasn’t an execution room. It was a medical lab. And that scared him even more. 

“It seems my patient has arrived,” Zola turned from where he was standing to face the solider.

“What’re you planning on doing to me now, Zola?” he spat.

The scientist only chuckled. “In time, you will see.”

What the hell was that supposed to mean? But before Bucky could even open his mouth to respond, he was forced onto the cot-like bed. He tried to move, fight the guards to get out of their grasp, yet there were too many of them, and eventually they had him strapped onto the bed.

“No need to struggle, Sergeant Barnes,” Zola muttered while filling a syringe with a clear liquid. “With you sedated, this won’t hurt a bit.”  
No. No, no, no. This felt too much like before. Like in that other base. During all the other testings. He couldn’t go through that again! He wouldn’t go through that again!

“No! NO!” he screamed, while thrashing to get loose. But it did no good, and Bucky felt the syringe pierce his skin. He felt the liquid enter his muscles forcefully, like they were invading his body. 

After that, everything was fuzzy, and in a matter of seconds, the whole world went black…

o0o

(Steve’s POV)

Peggy was right (once again). This was harder than he thought. Just trying to act like one of the guards to prevent drawing suspicion was hard enough. Then trying to search the area for any sort of clues on Natasha without seeming out of place was even more challenging. And (not to his surprise) Peggy was really good at it. Well, she was good at everything. But this skill she had was new to Steve.

She did an excellent job masking her accent, as well as sounding like a man. And her mannerisms, she blended right in. Steve was too clumsy and had already nearly gotten them caught, twice. But he covered his blemishes with decent excuses. 

Once they had found an empty storage room, did Steve finally talk freely.

“So, what’s our plan?” he asked.

“You’re the captain,” Peggy muttered back, now returning to her regular accent. 

“Do you think we can just ask where the prisoners are kept?”

“No!” 

Steve nodded. He assumed not.

“Should we just try to cover the most ground as possible? Split up?” he asked again.

This time she paused. “Sure. But radio in code if you find anything.”  
“I don’t know how to do that.”

Steve swore he could see Peggy roll her eyes, even under the helmet.

“Say something like: bringing prisoner 3 to you, lieutenant. I don’t know. Whatever seems fitting. Just don’t get caught.”

“I’ll try.”

They split ways, Steve going down the right corridor, while Peggy took the left. Steve didn’t know if splitting up would be the best option. They wouldn’t have anybody else to watch their backs, yet Steve knew it had to be done.

Still, he couldn’t bare the thought of Peggy getting hurt. He knew she could handle herself, probably better than he could, but that didn’t stop him from resenting the idea.

o0o

(Peggy’s POV)

They had split ways nearly ten minutes ago, and Peggy still hadn’t found anything notable. She systematically entered each room, and if asked, she reported that she was doing routinely rounds under shift 6. That seemed to do the trick.

She had already looked into about six different storage rooms, an empty conference room, opened a door that led to a warehouse full of weapons and swept through three different hallways that led to guardsmen quarters. Nothing hinting at a sign of Natasha. That was until a guard came up to her.

“Lieutenant has given me special orders. Take this meal to the prisoner. And if she asks questions ignore it. She’s a spy, anything you give away she’ll notice,” he relayed then handed her a tray that contained only a stale piece of bread and water.

Before Peggy could even respond, the guard had left the hallway. Perfect. Peggy didn’t know exactly where to go, but she knew Natasha was here. They may actually do this.

Quickly, she navigated to a map on the base she had found in that same empty conference room. Why hadn’t she looked there in the first place? Her mind was a mess and running at 100 kilometers an hour. Nothing good ever came from that.

She was close, two right turns and one left, then she’d be there. Peggy walked her way down the corridor, though in truth she wanted to make a mad dash to the prison cell. Natasha was there and she wanted to get her out as soon as possible. It’s been about 8 hours since she had been captured. 8 hours in this base. Who knows what they could’ve already done to her. But Peggy walked, so she wouldn't draw any suspicion onto herself.

Oh, right! Radio Steve! Right before she entered the last corridor to the prison cells, she grabbed her radio and made the call.

“Shift 6 delivering meal to prison hold. Repeat, shift 6 delivering meal to prison hold,” she spoke into the radio, then shut it off. If Steve had heard it, he would make his way to where she was. She just prayed he had.

Peggy unlocked a set of giant and heavy duty deadbolts, then opened the door. It was heavier than she had expected, made of steel. Once she was inside, she scanned the room. Most of the cells were empty. Actually all of them were, except one.

Immediately, she recognized the hair. Who wouldn’t? Natasha was curled on the ground, like a cat. Her back towards her. Was she unconscious? Asleep? Drugged perhaps? Yet as she walked closer, she noticed Natasha move, just enough so her eyes could track the disguised agent. Peggy knew exactly what she was trying to do. If she looked harmless, they may just opened her door and enter the cell. That could give the spy an advantage and even an opportunity to attack.

Before Peggy got too close to the cell, though, she scanned the room, looking for any cameras that would catch her. There were two, one in each corner of the room. She shot out both quickly, which then caused Natasha to sit up. But her face still gave no tell. It was solemn without any expression. Boy, she was good.

They didn’t have much time before somebody would notice that the cameras were out, so the agent decided to move quickly. She took off her helmet to reveal herself. She could already see Natasha’s expression become confused.

“Peggy?”

“I’m here to get you out, Steve too,” she explained. But then realized her dilemma. One, she didn’t have the key to the cell. Two, Natasha’s hands were cuffed and chained. They needed Steve’s shield.

“What were you thinking? Coming back here? You could’ve gotten yourself killed and…” Peggy began.

“He’s here,” she interrupted.

Peggy stopped talking immediately. She wasn’t talking about…

“Bucky’s alive. He’s here. Zola found him. They took him only half an hour ago. I have no clue what they’re doing to him,” she explained.

“How? That’s not possible.”

“I’m glad I came back,” she added. “Call me stupid, but I’d do it again. A million times if it meant I’d get to see him again and tell him. I don’t regret a thing, Agent.”

Peggy only nodded. She understood. She understood fully. If this had happened to Steve, Peggy knew she would’ve done the same. But still, that didn’t excuse the spy from any military repercussions. 

She then grabbed for her radio. Steve had to get here quick.

“Steve!” she called. She needed him to respond.

“On my way Peg,” was his response.

Even in this situation, with Natasha cuffed to a wall, and sporting multiple injuries, she still smirked at Peggy.

“Did he finally ask you out on a date?” she asked.

“Something like that,” Peggy nodded. Leave it to Natasha to talk about relationships during a life or death situation.

“Good. Took him long enough,” she scoffed.

As if on cue, Steve entered the prison hold, already holding his shield.

“I think our cover’s been blown,” he explained.

Great, just great.

“Well, hurry then!” Peggy responded and nodded towards Natasha.

o0o

(Steve’s POV)

She was alive, and seemed well. He couldn’t help but give her a smile as he cracked the lock on the cell, then entered the small confines.

“Are you okay?” he asked. Only once he got closer did he notice that she was injured. Dark purple bruises lined her arms and cheeks. A decent sized gash (that was now just dried blood) was present right at her hairline, and tiny cut marks were zig-zagged across her skin.

He brought his shield down forcefully on one of her cuffs. Only one more left to go. 

“I’m alright, I don’t know about him,” she replied.

Steve froze in place and brought his eyes up to her. No, Bucky couldn’t…

“He’s alive Steve,” she said. There was a softness in her voice, but it came out to be more of a tremble. “But I don’t know anymore. They took him away a while ago.”

“Let’s find him then,” he muttered, and destroyed the second cuff. Natasha shook her wrists free then gave him a grateful smile.

“Thanks for coming back for me,” she sighed.

“And let you die? Who do you think I am, Natasha?”

She rolled her eyes. “Let’s get moving then, righteous one.”

o0o

(Bucky’s POV)

All he felt was a strong grasp on his body. And a lot of screams and shouts. It was like he was underwater. Each voice was disoriented and far away. He couldn’t make out anything. But he was being lifted? Carried? And then suddenly there was cold. A lot of cold. Then nothing.

o0o

(Natasha’s POV)

The plan was that there was no plan. They ran through the corridors with their guns ready (they had found a rifle for her in a storage room on the way). The only plan of attack was that: attack.

They went through each and every room, eliminating everyone inside. May seem harsh, but this was the last HYDRA base. There couldn’t be any remains left after this. They wanted to end the evil organization.

Eventually, they entered a lab. And Natasha swore that her heart stopped for a second. He was tied down onto the lab table, completely unconscious. Zola had just seemed to finish an incision in his stump of an arm, and had injected him with a sort of dark red liquid. 

Before anybody could even react, she shot the scientist. A perfect shot, hit him directly in the heart. He deserved it. Fully deserved it. After her shot rang out, everything turned to chaos. Peggy began shooting, Steve already had his shield out and ready, knocking HYDRA guards down to and fro.

Natasha had killed a total of six guards. Four with her rifle, two with just a few punches and kicks. Once the entire room was nothing but a heap of dead bodies, did they rush over to Bucky.

She found a knife in one of the drawers and frantically cut through the leather straps that held him down. Then, once he was “free”, Natasha stood over him. Her hands ran up and down his cheek and through his hair.   
“What did they do to you,” she whispered, while stroking the side of his neck.

“Here, Nat,” Steve interrupted. She didn’t look up. She ignored Steve and kept her gaze on his unconscious form.

“Natasha,” she said again, louder. She gave in, and let him pick Bucky up. It wasn’t like she could do it, not with the condition her ribs were in.

“Go ahead, I have one more thing to take care of,” she sighed.

“Absolutely not, we’re leaving now. All of us, before any of us get killed,” Peggy stated.

“What she said,” Steve nodded in agreement.

“I have to do this. I’ll catch up,” Natasha assured them.

Peggy and Steve shared a glance, then Peggy eventually sighed. “Take this and report back every two minutes. If you miss a full segment we’re coming straight back, you hear?”

“Yes, thank you,” and before either Peggy or Steve could stop her, Natasha was out the door, running through the hallways. 

She had one man she was determined to find. Some would think she was a complete idiot to go back for a necklace. But Natasha was one to take back what was rightfully hers. Plus, she wanted a little revenge while she was at it.


	15. The Dog Tags and the Spider Charm

(Natasha’s POV)

As the sound of loud alarms blared in her ears, Natasha ran through the dark corridors. Somehow she knew exactly where to go, it was like she had a sixth sense. She was heading for his office, where she knew he had to be. 

Occasionally, the spy would run into a guard or even a set of three or more, but they weren’t more than a mere obstacle to her. Quickly, she would shoot with her rifle, leaving them dead. Each shot was perfect. Natasha soon found that she was good with a gun, better than she had thought.

After running through the hallways for about a minute, Natasha picked up her radio. “In pursuit,” she stated, not knowing exactly what else to say.

“Copy,” she heard Peggy respond.

Only a moment later did Natasha finally come across the door. This was it. She knew it. She swung open the metal door, her gun raised, and there he was. He looked up from whatever paperwork he was completing and froze.

Natasha knew his next move. He had a gun in his coat pocket. So as he began to shuffled and reach towards his chest, Natasha fired a shot at his shoulder, then again at his wrist. Both bullets landed the mark and he grimaced in pain.

“You missed,” he spat, now reaching with his other hand, in which Natasha threw a knife at his palm. It too hit its mark and this time he couldn’t muffle the scream.

“I never miss,” Natasha responded, then made her way over to his desk. She grabbed his hands, pulled them behind his back and twisted his arm a certain way to make him cry out in pain. 

She thought she would enjoy this, but she didn’t. Not at all. She just wanted to get back to Bucky’s side. Yet she needed his tags, and her charm. And for this man to be dead, so she quickly began to question him.

“For your own good, I would answer the following set of questions,” she added, while tightening the hold. She felt him struggle to try to get away, but it was no use. He realized that quickly, yet still gave her a bitter laugh, one that didn’t fail to make her shiver.

“It’s not like you came in here with the intention of letting me live. I won’t spill any secrets,” he replied, smugly. 

“Hm,” Natasha said sarcastically while now bending his fingers in a way that wasn’t natural. “I guess you’re right. I do want to kill you. But if you answer my questions your death will be by gunshot instead of through a torturous set of stab wounds. How does that sound?”  
She then took out the knife and slit a small cut again his arm. He whimpered. She almost laughed. He had done the same to her, yet she didn’t even shed a tear. He really was weaker than he seemed, but Natasha already knew that.

“Okay, we’ll begin,” she sighed. “But first…”

She tightened her grip before letting one hand go to reach for her radio. It had been nearly two minutes gone (it was hard estimating).

“Give me five,” she stated.

“Copy,” Peggy replied.

“Any questions for this bastard?” she asked again.

The lieutenant only huffed and tired to struggle loose again, but was met with the edge of the knife on his temple. He stopped.

“Yes. One: what’s their endgame?” 

“Answer,” Natasha put the radio close to his face, then brought the knife closer and closer to his forehead. 

He eventually gave up and sighed, “Using enhanced humans to do our bidding. Assassinations, killings, bringing down empires. Anything to bring HYDRA glory. They would give us control over the world.” 

The other line was silent. Natasha tried to process what he was saying. Enhanced humans. Bucky being tested. Bucky strapped onto a lab table. They were already starting.

“Are there others?” she asked next. Still keeping the radio line on.

“No. We started with Barnes because Zola had already tested on him in Austria. As far as we know, he would’ve been the first. You next,” he explained.

Natasha then turned off the radio, and asked two more questions. “Is there any other bases?”

“Not that I know of.”

And…

“Where’s his tags? Where’s my necklace?”

With that, he chuckled. 

“You’re foolish. You know that? Came back just for that? Love is truly a ridiculous thing,” he spat.

Now she had the knife to his throat. “Yeah? Well this ‘ridiculous’ form of love is going to make me slight your throat, and slowly if you don’t tell me where.”  
He once again let up, probably after already feeling the edge of the knife slowly slicing his skin.

“Left drawer. Right on top of my papers,” he explained while struggling for breath.

“Thank you for your corporation,” Natasha sighed, let go of him for a moment, only to grab his pistol and shoot him straight in the head. It would be a painless death. But his sins would be enough to make his afterlife hell. 

With the whole room quiet, she heard something. A rhythmic tick. That only meant a bomb. He probably wanted to destroy any evidence of this base so nobody could excavate it and find anything worth reading. Sure, she would’ve loved to collect the information, yet that wasn’t important to her. Those tags and her life? That was what was important to her.

She quickly went to the left drawer and already heard the jingle of the thin chains as she opened the cabinetry. They were right on top, like he said. She snagged both necklaces, then left the room.

Natasha had made it out just in time. Only a second later did the room explode, yet she soon realized that wasn’t the only explosion in the bunker. Another boom. Then another. One from the south corridor, two from the west. This whole base was going up in flames.

“Peggy!” Natasha called into the radio. Already smoke was starting to fill the hallways.

“Yes? Natasha, I copy,” she responded.

“He triggered a set of bombs. This whole base is going up in flames,” she explained.

“Is he dead?”

“Yes.”  
There was about 15 seconds before Peggy spoke again, probably trying to connect the dots.

“Please don’t tell me you’re still in that base,” she pleaded.

“If I said I wasn’t, I’d be lying,” Natasha sighed, already trying to navigate the smokey hallways. The fumes stung her eyes, and she squinted, hoping that would help. It barely did anything.

“We’re at the top, but Steve’ll go back for you,” she heard Peggy sigh on the other end.

“No, just wait for me to…”

“Natasha, I’m coming back for you. Bucky would’ve done the same,” he explained.

“I’ll make it out, trust me on this,” she said, while trying to hold in a cough. She hadn’t made much progress, just blindly traveling through the corridors, hoping she would find her way out. She could feel the burn from the smoke in her throat and she was already feeling the slightest bit lightheaded.

“I can’t trust you on this one, Nat,” he responded. 

Natasha clicked on her radio to respond again, but he beat her to it.

“Non-negotiable,” he stated.

The spy scoffed, only throwing her into a coughing fit. She’d find her way out of here. She had to! Natasha continued to run, now picking up her pace. She must’ve picked the right hallways because she could see the double doors ahead. They were there, hanging open, and she had almost made it out when…

Another explosion went off, coming from the lab. The force of it threw her forward and into the snow. Just as she had fallen onto the ground, the base began to collapse, causing snow to cascade down the mountain. It wasn’t large enough to be considered an avalanche, but it was strong enough to nearly burry Natasha fully.

She tried to get up. She tried to dig herself out of the snow, yet the smoke had messed with her head. She felt dizzy and weak. She felt a shortness of breath within her lungs, and the snow only made things worse. In a matter of minutes she felt her skin begin to tinkle and then turn numb.

Steve would be here. Soon enough he would find her and uncover her body. Natasha hated the fact that she had to rely on him, but she had no other options. She was too weak to even move. She despised the feeling. That helpless feeling. Similar to the one she felt all those years ago, being held down, punched around like a potato sack. Being thrown into fights she didn’t choose. Fights she couldn’t win. It all came back. And she hated every second of it. Every living second.

o0o

(Steve’s POV)

As Steve trekked back down the mountain, he suddenly heard a large boom. It made the ground lightly shake and he could feel the force of it from where he stood. Immediately, he became worried. That had to be an explosion, one that would have came from the base. Natasha was there. What if she didn’t make it out in enough time? He quickened his pace, now running in a full-out sprint towards the base.

The light of early morning shown through the tall pine trees, and he was thankful that it helped improve his sight. With that explosion, everything was out of sorts. Trees were blown back, snow had been piled into messy clumps and any evidence of the base had been demolished.

Eventually, he found his way to where the entrance of the base would’ve been, but there wasn’t a base there anymore. No, it had collapsed. The blood in Steve’s vines went cold. No…. Natasha.

But then he heard a grunt and a quiet “Steve?”. It was no louder than a whisper and he only heard it due to his enhanced hearing. The captain turned around to find Natasha laying underneath a pile of snow. She looked, pale and… nearly frozen.

He didn’t even ask if she was alright. Just by her expression he could tell she wasn’t. Quickly, he began to shove off the hard packed snow, then lifted her up and began to carry her away.

She was already shivering, her body cold and her clothes damp and ice-crusted from the snow. Her small frame racked with the trembles and she could barely speak. 

“C..c..cold,” she shivered. 

“I’m going to get you to the jet as fast as possible,” he replied.

He watched her nod, then close her eyes. She didn’t open them again, but kept speaking.

“Is h..h..he o..okay?” she asked.

Steve couldn’t help but shake his head, not believing his ears. She was at risk of catching frostbite and all she cared about was Bucky’s safety. I guess love could make you do that.

“He’ll be alright,” Steve sighed.

“D..did he w..w..wake up?” she questioned. Her voice was shaky and had a certain rasp to it. Not her normal rasp, it was deeper. A common side affect from smoke inhalation. Well, with her inside a burning building, Steve shouldn’t have been surprised.

“No, not yet. At least not when I last saw him.”

“H..he has to wake u..u..up,” she muttered, throwing herself into a coughing fit. He felt the coughs shake her entire body, and it only caused her to shiver more.

“You have to receive medical attention,” Steve responded.

He felt her sigh, her face was still serious but a hint of a smile shown through.

“A..a..always the worrier, R..Rogers,” she stated, then didn’t speak again. He watched the rise and fall of her chest and kept a hand on her pulse to make sure she was still with him, as he continued to climb up the ravine. With his enhanced speed, though, it didn’t take long before he reached the top.

He found Peggy already sitting in the plane with Bucky sitting on the edge of a cot. When Steve entered, both Peggy and Bucky looked up. Immediately, Bucky stood and walked over to where Steve was standing in the doorway.

“What happened to her?” he asked, already his expression was a mix of panic and concern.

“She went back for something and interrogated… someone,” Steve explained, now placing Natasha on the cot that Bucky was sitting on before.

Bucky only shook his head and began to pace around the cabin. “You shouldn’t have let her go, Steve! She could be dying! That’s frostbite symptoms!” 

“She was… determined,” Peggy explained.

Bucky only shook his head, now kneeling by her side. Steve motioned for Peggy to follow him to the cockpit.

“We should try to get to camp so she can receive medical attention,” Steve sighed.

“Agreed. I’ll go let Gabe know.”

Steve nodded, and Peggy looked at him with a concerned expression.

“Steve, it’s not your fault. It can’t be. You know how she…”  
“We shouldn’t have let her go, though, Peg,” Steve shook his head.

“Steve,” she said once again, now bringing her hands to his cheek, causing him to look into her eyes. Those warm brown eyes, he could get lost in them forever. “You’re a hero. Don’t think of yourself any way otherwise.”

Steve felt her lips on his. It was a gentle kiss, a kind one. One that was sweet like honey. She broke it after a moment and gave him a soft smile.

“I’ll go let Gabe know we’re departing,” she stated, then left the plane.

o0o

(Bucky’s POV)

His fingertips grazed her cheek, her hand, her neck. She was so cold. Quickly, he had pulled her out of her coat and jacket, when he found something. In the pocket of her jacket was her necklace, and his dog tags. He gripped the two chains in his palm. She went back for this, he knew it. Bucky closed his eyes in agony. Why did she risk her life for this!

He called Peggy over from the cockpit, where she was sitting by Steve. 

“Can you… can you take off the rest of her clothes. She can’t be in wet clothes,” Bucky asked.

Peggy nodded and made her way to the cot, while Bucky left the room. Natasha hadn’t given him permission and he wouldn’t dare to violate that. Now, Bucky sat by Steve.

“She went back for these,” Bucky shuddered, and held up the two looped chains for Steve to see. 

Steve gave him a pitiful look, then refocused on steering the plane.

“They had to have meant something for her to go back,” Steve added. His voice was calm, serious.

“They did,” Bucky sighed. “But if it costs her… God I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself Steve. She… she completes me in a way nobody else could.”

And Bucky meant every word. He couldn’t imagine a future without Natasha in it. Her strength, her laugh, her smile, her kisses, her touches, her comforting words, her hair, her beauty. Her inner beauty most of all. He didn’t want it all to leave just like that.

“I know,” Steve gave him a sad smile. “She’s strong. She’ll make it.”

“She’s the strongest person I know.”


	16. The Wait

(Bucky’s POV)

He waited. And waited. And waited. First he received medical attention himself, where doctors properly patched up his arm, then ran some tests to discover that he had received a partial dose of a special serum. One that enhanced certain abilities, yet not others. Strength, was one of those things, as well as healing.   
“Looks like I’m not the only super-solider here,” Steve joked. It made Bucky smile, yet the light didn’t reach his eyes.

He wanted to wait by Natasha’s side, but once again he was pulled away. Colonel Phillips along with the other military personnel questioned him on anything and everything, trying to figure out how he was still alive and why HYDRA had even captured him. Peggy was his saving grace, reporting that she had information Natasha had relayed and freed him from the colonel and his many questions.

By the time he got to the medical ward, she was already awake. An IV was pumping fluids into her skin, and two layers of thick blankets were piled over her body. She looked over at him once he had entered the warehouse that was being used as a makeshift hospital.

“You’re awake,” Bucky breathed. A smile graced his features as he sat by her side.

“That I am,” she replied, and she smiled tenderly back, then reached out for his hand. He wrapped her small hand in his protective hold. He missed her touch. “Compared to others in this warehouse, I got off easy. Just some rest and I’ll be fine.”

Bucky couldn’t help but shake his head, then let go of her hand and lightly grazed his fingertips over a set of burn marks on her cheek. Frostbite burn marks. 

“I’ll live, Bucky. Those marks may be there forever, but I don’t mind,” she explained.

“I know. I just felt so close to loosing you… it scared me,” he let out a breath.

“I think I know the feeling,” she quipped, causing Bucky to lightly chuckle.

“I’m so glad you’re still in my life,” he responded, now his voice fully serious. He watched Natasha blink up at him, her eyes watching him with a soft gaze.

They both leaned towards each other, and met the other halfway. Closing the distance, their lips touched in a chaste kiss. It was soft, tender and gentle, yet still made Bucky’s heart flip and stomach drop (in a good way of course). He missed her. He never wanted to stop kissing her.

But they broke apart after a second, when they heard a cough behind them. Bucky turned to find Colonel Phillips watching them.

“Colonel, sir,” Bucky saluted, then backed away from Natasha’s cot. The colonel nodded at Bucky curtly, then faced Natasha.

“Peggy says you interrogated the lieutenant, Lieutenant Wagner. I want to know everything,” he stated.

o0o

(Natasha’s POV)

She told him what she had discovered. How he claimed that there weren’t any other bases, that Bucky was to be the first super-solider they would construct and also what he had told her and also Peggy through the radio.

“That’s not enough. There could still be HYDRA personnel looming in the shadows,” he muttered.

“With all due respect, there was a bomb planted. If I had stayed there any longer for more questions I would be dead,” Natasha explained. 

“That brings me to my second point. You left the base camp without an order. You went rogue. You were bound to know that there’s repercussions for that sort of behavior. A spy follows orders, not makes them. I think you know your rank,” he continued.

That made Natasha’s blood boil. He couldn’t be so insensitive to punish her after she saved Bucky’s life! He would’ve just concluded him to be dead.

“You were going to leave him to die. You assumed he was dead,” she argued.

“And I was wrong, and I should’ve sent a team. But you going rogue wasn’t the answer,” he explained.

“I don’t regret any bit of it,” Natasha stated clearly, while she connected her gaze with Bucky. She stared at him for a moment, finding his ice-blue eyes. The expression was vague, a mix of gratefulness and a proud gaze. 

She then turned her attention back onto the colonel before adding, “Give me whatever punishment you see fit. If I’m removed from my post, so be it. It was worth it. He’s worth it.”

The colonel just sighed, and left the ward. She didn’t care what happened to her next. She just got Bucky back.


	17. The Promised Dance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The dress Peggy wears to her date is the same dress you see her wear in Steve’s Age of Ultron hallucination. Just thought I'd let you know.

(Steve’s POV)

“Is this it? Is the war over?” Steve asked, sitting outside on a crate. He had been sketching in his sketchbook before Peggy had walked up to him. He was surprised to see her wearing civilian clothes, not her uniform. The white and light blue polka-dot dress suited her nicely, to say the least.

“The war was declared over when you stopped the bombing over the US. The Nazi party surrendered. Hitler surrendered. I guess when they don’t have their weapon supplier or their most powerful ally, they seem to be nothing,” she shrugged.

Steve scoffed and shook his head, “HYDRA may still be out there.”

“That can be true, but for now, there’s peace,” Peggy responded.

They both sat in silence, just looking over the busy London streets through the gated courtyard.

“I owe you a date,” Steve spoke, breaking the silence.

“Right, you do,” she smiled blithely.

“So, what do you say? Tonight? At the swing club down the street?”

“7 o’clock, remember? Don’t be late.”

With that she was gone. But her scent still lingered. Steve was giddy with excitement. He had a date! He was nervous since it would be his first, but he had secured a date with the prettiest girl he had ever seen. No, correction. He had a date with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

o0o

(Peggy’s POV)

As the hours went by, Peggy couldn’t seem to keep her mind off of the date she would have later that night. She hadn’t became this excited for a date since… well since a while. The last date she had ever went on was right before she became an agent, and let’s just say it wasn’t very fulfilling. Perhaps that was because she didn’t have the right partner.

Now she was going to go dancing with Steve. Love-able, honorable, kindhearted and dashingly handsome Steve. 

She looked through the few options of dresses she had in her wardrobe. It wasn’t like she exactly needed an absurd amount of dresses during the war, but having a nice one to wear for this sort of occasion was vital.

Peggy chose a dress she hadn’t worn in a while. The last time she had worn it was… a year ago maybe? It was a dark blue (yet not dark enough to be a navy). It had no pattern, yet it wasn’t “plain” either. It had a “Queen Anne” neckline, small puffed sleeves, and a beautiful corsage made with flowers of different shades of pink adorned her left collar. The dress flowed nicely to say the least, and, surprisingly, it fit extremely well considering she hadn’t worn it in a year. The article of clothing didn’t even smell dusty.

Once the dress was on, she continued to curl her hair nicely, like she always had, but then pulled the loose curls back into a low bun; which she embellished with small pearls that were attached to hair-pins. After adding a dash of lipstick, she was satisfied. The clock read 6:49. Only ten minutes before she was supposed to be there. She had to hurry. She grabbed her purse, then left out the door. 

As Peggy exited the apartment building, a car slowed down and parked by the curb. She continued to walk cautiously, who knew who was driving that thing. For all she knew it could be a drunk creep.

But when the car came to a complete stop and the driver exited the vehicle, did she realize who it was.

“You really thought I’d let you walk all the way there?” Steve asked. A playful smile graced his lips.

“Well, it’s not a long walk, I thought I’d…” Peggy argued.

“Peggy,” Steve walked up onto the curb. Before Peggy could even react, he hand her hand in his, and brought the back of her hand to his lips. “Let’s go. I don’t want to be late for our date.”  
All she could do was nod, giving in. He opened the car door for her (such the gentleman), then hopped into the driver’s seat and drove the route to the swing club a few blocks over.

“We could’ve walked, you know?” Peggy said after a second of silence. She could stop smiling, even while trying to “bicker” with Steve (all in good fun), she couldn’t keep her face straight. His smile was contagious, not to mention just the mere thought of dancing with him made her insides flutter.

“Well, Bucky lent me this car for the night so I thought I’d make use out of it,” Steve shrugged, but he still took the time to give her a tender glance. His eyes stayed on her for a minute through the mirrors, she could feel it.

“You’re staring,” she muttered.

That caused him to look away and keep his eyes focused on the road. His took in a breath, and finally responded “You look breathtaking Peggy. I can’t wait for tonight.”  
“You look handsome yourself, Steve,” she replied. And he did. He was wearing his military uniform (the nice fancy dark green one with all the pins and badges), not to mention that his hair was brushed to perfection.

He didn’t respond, just blushed madly, which eventually made Peggy start to feel a blush of her own overcome her. When had she ever blushed like this because of a man? Steve was different, that was for sure.

Eventually, he parked the car, once again opened the door for her, and they walked into the swing club arm in arm.

“You ready?” he asked right before he opened the door. You could already hear the smooth jazz music playing from inside the building. Trumpets, trombones, drums, piano, strings, the whole works. 

“Never been more,” Peggy smiled back up at him.

o0o

(Steve’s POV)

He was nervous to say the least. Steve had never been on a date before and most especially never danced with a dame before. What if he completely messed up? Made a fool of himself? What if he stepped on her feet or offended her in any way? But he knew Peggy wouldn’t judge, if anything they’d laugh about it together then move on. That was one of the things Steve liked about her, she didn’t mind his awkwardness. She already knew who he was, well enough that he shouldn’t have to worry about impressions and such. But still, Steve being Steve, he worried if he’d screw this whole thing up.

He had asked Bucky for advice before he had left on the date, prying him away from Natasha’s bedside to ask for some guidance. What should he say? Do? How hard is dancing even?

“Just be yourself pal. Really, be your kind, awkward, but loving self. Stay the gentleman you are. She already likes you for that, so don’t change a thing,” Bucky shrugged.

“But dancing! I don’t even know what to do! My sense of rhythm is not… the best,” Steve sighed.

“She’ll lead you through it. Knowing Peggy, she won’t mind teaching you right then and there,” he responded.

Steve took a deep breath, “Okay…I’ll… I’ll do that.”

Then a moment later he asked, “How do I look?”

“You cleaned up nice, pal,” Bucky nodded, then gave Steve a hug. “Go get her.”

Now he was entering the swig club with her on his arm. He opened the door, like the gentleman he was, then looked around the room. People were dancing, others just sat watching at tables that were littered around the room, and a band was posted on the stage. 

Peggy too stopped for a moment, taking in the sight, before Steve felt her grab his hand.

“Let’s go!” she beamed, and dragged him over to the cleared out space that was technically the “dance floor”. An upbeat song was playing, one you would swing dance too.

Steve looked around at the other people dancing. They were executing complicated choreography, with spins, jumps, twirls and fast footwork that Steve didn’t think he was capable of doing. I guess Peggy seemed to sense his worry, since she took his hands in hers then leaned forward until her lips were by his ear.

“Don’t worry, I’ll lead you,” she told him over the loud music. He nodded and let her set the pace. 

She did simple steps with her feet, nothing too fast and complicated, and soon Steve was following perfectly. She had brought one of his hands to rest on her hip while the other held her hand. Slowly, they moved around the room, and once Steve became more comfortable did they speed up the pace.

It was fun really. Steve couldn’t stop smiling, especially when Peggy’s face would light up and giggle or laugh when she did a spin. This is why people loved dancing. Steve wanted to do it all night just to see her in such a happy state. When Peggy was happy, so was he.

After a few songs, Steve stopped to catch his breath. Sure he was a super-solider but after dancing with Peggy for fifteen minutes straight, he needed a drink of water. 

“Do you want anything? Water? Soda?” he asked her once they seated down at one of the tables.

“Water is fine,” she replied with a grateful smile. She was out of breath, her chest rising and falling quickly. But she still wore that gleaming expression on her face. Her brown eyes dream, lips upturned just so and with a little flush to her cheeks (making them the perfect rosy shade).

Only a minute or so later, Steve returned with the water. He sat down next to her, and drank a bit from the cool glass. Never had it ever tasted better. That’s when Peggy got up from out of her seat.

“Where’re you going?” Steve asked.

“Wait here. I’ll be back,” she responded with a coy smile. She was up to something. Steve just shook his head with a grin and waited for her to return.

She did, just in time for the band to start playing a new song, though this one was slower. Much slower.

“Are you ready for our dance?” Peggy said immediately once she got beck to their seats. Without waiting for a response, she pulled Steve back onto the dance floor. More couples also joined in, slowly dancing to the silky smooth music.

“Did you do this?” Steve asked with a knowing look. He placed one hadn’t on her waits and the other through her palm like before, yet this time with a different softness to it. This was a slow dance. Something delicate and savoring.

“I may have requested a song,” she shrugged and looked up at him with a smile.

Steve heard the melody and knew it immediately: It’s Been a Long, Long Time, by Harry James. His mother used to play it all the time when it first came onto the radio. She would dance slowly in circles in the kitchen, humming along to its soft melody.

That experience may have just caused Steve to do the same. He brought Peggy closer to him, so his lips would be right next to her ear, and he hummed the song quietly. He felt her melt into his touch, letting him guide her in small circles. 

This warm feeling. He didn’t want it to end. After a moment he looked down at her. He wanted to see her eyes, her face, her smile. And he got just that when she too looked at him. 

It was like those moments you feel in a dream. When everything’s too good to be true. You don’t want the feeling to stop, you don’t want the dream to stop. But eventually you knew the music would end, that the night would end and you couldn’t stay in this trance forever.

The music did end, yet not before Steve leaned down and sealed his lips in her own. It was a light kiss, chaste and gentle. Yet it still left him feeling breathless and in awe. He didn’t even mind when she said her lipstick was now on his lips, he just focused on her giggle when she said it. That giggle warmed his heart, inside out. 

Eventually, the band played the next song, one that was back to its fast paced tempo.

“Another dance?” Peggy asked.

“I wouldn’t want anything more,” Steve nodded. 

And they fell back into quick steps, matching the fast paced rhythm. 

o0o

(Peggy’s POV)

Hours later they decided to call it a night. It was nearly 11:00 and the swing club was going to close in an hour. So, they walked back to the car. Since they had parked decently far from the club, Steve had handed Peggy his jacket.

She had refused at first, saying she wasn’t cold, but when he saw her shiver out of the corner of his eye, he took it off and wrapped the thick coat over her shoulders.

They walked quietly back for the most part, with Steve holding her hand. The warmth from not only his jacket but from his hand itself made her sigh contently. This whole night was one of the best in her life. By far the best date she had ever went on.

“Steve?” she started once they were in the car driving.

“Yes?” he responded, while glancing at her for a moment before returning his eyes to the road.

“I realized something tonight,” she continued.

“And that is…?”

“I think I’ve found the right partner,” she beamed.

Peggy watched his lips part slightly in surprise, and every few moments he stole a look at her. His expression was priceless. He looked so happy, but shy and surprised at the same time.

“I want you in my life, Peg. From now on,” he spoke after a moment.

“I’m looking forward to that,” she smiled blissfully.

One thing was for sure, Steve was as well. He had found the one, he knew it already.


	18. Starting the Next Chapter (AKA the epilogue)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I couldn’t really find a place to put this in the epilogue, but Howard Stark does actually help build Bucky a new arm before they leave London. I really tried to put that scene into this chapter, but it didn’t really fit the flow so I didn’t.

(Not exactly a specific POV, it changes over the course of the chapter, but it’s mostly Natasha’s *if I had to choose*)

Natasha looked down at the infant in her arms. The baby gurgled quietly, and smiled up at her. Those soft blue eyes flitted from one thing to the next, eventually landing on Natasha’s loose red curls that flowed over her shoulder (she had let it grow). Those tiny little fists reached up and grabbed hold of one of the strands, pulling it weakly towards her small mouth. 

“That’s not for you to eat,” Natasha smiled tenderly down at the small baby, who was only a few weeks old.

The infant giggled, and let go once Natasha pried her hair out of the little hands. 

“She has a strong grip,” the redhead muttered, now feeling Bucky by her side. He too looked down at the small child.

“And I wonder where she gets it from,” he said, sarcastically.

“They say none of the serum has transferred into her, but we’re still not fully sure,” Steve explained, while looking on proudly at his two best friends holding and loving his newborn daughter.

It’d been two years since the war had ended. Natasha and Bucky had began their travels, leaving Steve and Peggy in London, yet they din’t stay there for long. The pair eventually moved to New Jersey (when Peggy said she loved the place during her time at Camp Lehigh). About a year later they had gotten married, and now they had a month old baby girl: Sarah Amanda Rogers.

She was the apple of Steve’s eye, a precious jewel he couldn’t live without. She brought so much joy and energy and just… ugh! Steve loved her so much. He had always wanted to be a father, living a life with the two people he loved the most. And, of course, in the company of his two best friends.

Bucky had already proposed to Natasha, about a month ago, when they were stargazing in Haute-Pyrénées, France. It was a small village they had actually came across by accident. Their car had broken down just on the outskirts of the town, and they decided to stay for a night in a tiny cramped inn. But soon enough, after strolling through the village streets, they found the place magical, and stayed for a few more nights. 

The last night of their stay in the mystical town, Natasha suggested they stargaze in the endless meadow that was on the outskirts, near the land that the local farmers owned. The view they received that night was breathtaking, by far the most enthralling night skies Bucky had ever seen. She did teach him every constellation she knew, and they eventually ended up in each other’s arms, with (of course) multiple breathtaking kisses exchanged. He proposed to her, with only the moon as their light, in that meadow. 

He knew he couldn’t live a life without her, that she was the perfect one for him. And to make him even happier, she said “yes", throwing her arms around him and kissing him once again, deeply. She cried, tears of happiness and joy of course, but Bucky still wiped them away with the most gentle touch of his hand all the same.

Their wedding would be soon, the two still hadn’t set the date, and they knew it would be a small gathering with just their intimate friends, yet that didn’t make it any less exciting. Bucky was ready for the day he could really call Natasha “his”. Even just thinking about it made his breath catch. 

Now Sarah was crying, she gave a short wail before Peggy had entered the room. Natasha looked distressed, trying to figure out what she did to upset the little girl, or how to calm her down.

“Here,” Peggy motioned for the baby, Natasha handed her over carefully. “She’s probably hungry. I’ll go to the nursery.”

Natasha nodded, then wandered around the house a bit awkwardly. She hadn’t been here before today. It was a beautiful house, one story with a decent amount of space, cozy layout and a large back and front yard. 

Bucky soon began a conversation with Steve, and Natasha didn’t exactly want to just stand there and listen, instead she found her way outside and sat on the front porch.

The autumn leaves blew in the wind. A feeling of calmness spread over her. She liked this, this peaceful feeling but… she didn’t know if she exactly wanted it. Well, Natasha really didn’t know what she wanted. A family? Settling down in a home? But she wasn’t the one to settle. Continue moving from place to place with Bucky? But would he become tired after a while, just want a place to call home? She didn’t know which she preferred better. 

And then there’s finding a job too. She would need a permanent residence for that. Now with the war over, she had just gotten by with her and Bucky’s money pooled together (not like they ever stayed in expensive hotels or ate out, they definitely traveled on a budget), yet that would run out. The OSS wasn’t even functioning anymore, and Natasha didn’t know if she wanted to continue a job like that, where your life is at stake every day. Maybe becoming a seamstress like Mrs. Sokolv would be nice. She was already good at it, so she could earn a living there…

“What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?” she heard Bucky’s voice come from behind her, who knew how long he had been standing there for.

“The future,” she replied, while still grazing at the fall view in front of her. 

He stepped forward and sat with her on the wooden steps, his hand finding hers as he gripped it tight.

“Do you want this?” she asked. “This life?”

Bucky sighed and thought for a moment. He honestly didn’t know. With how they spent the last year or so, he hadn’t really thought too far into the future. Bucky just knew that as long as she was by his side, any life they chose would be the right one.

“I don’t know yet, what about you?”

“I would give the same answer,” she muttered with a soft smile. It was infectious and soon enough he was beaming as well. “And having kids? It seems daunting. I never had a mother, what if I turn out to be a bad one?”

“You wouldn’t be,” Bucky murmured and pulled her close to him. She leaned into his body while he kissed her temple affectionately. “You have the kindest heart and a loving soul. You would be a wonderful mother.”

“We’ll see soon enough what our future holds,” she hummed, closing her eyes.

“No matter what, we’ll do it together though,” he now smiled, and his lips tickled her hairline.

“Until death do us part,” Natasha hummed.

“Until death do us part,” Bucky repeated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! It's done! I really hope you enjoyed this story. As I've said before, I'm truly surprised at how fast I completed it (literally 60,000 words in 20 days!). Also, I'm incredibly proud of how this turned out! Let me know your thoughts, what you want to see next. Those that left suggestions on my first AU, I'm also turning to those comments to help me decided what to write next.
> 
> Anyhow, have a lovely rest of your day/evening/night! Thanks for reading!


	19. Playlist (music that pairs well with the AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There isn't any plot to this or added story, it's just a playlist I made with songs I think relate to the plot and characters. Thanks for reading! And if you want, check out these songs!

What I think applies to both ships:  
Memorized-Blake Stadnik  
New Light-John Mayer

BUCKYNAT SONGS:  
willow-Taylor Swift  
cardigan-Taylor Swift  
Electric Love-BØRNS  
Shelter-The Satellite Station  
6's to 9's-Big Wild, Rationale  
Robbery-Lime Cordiale  
blind-ROLE MODEL  
Blinding Lights-The Weekend  
Make U Mine-PUBLIC  
Falling for U-Peachy!, mxmtoon  
Us-James Bay  
I Had The Craziest Dream-Harry James (1940s)

STEGGY SONGS:  
Paper Rings-Taylor Swift  
Lover-Taylor Swift  
To Build a Home-The Cinematic Orchestra, Patrick Watson  
Always Forever-Cults  
Golden-Harry Styles   
I Really Like U-Stephen Dawes  
Saturday Sun-Vance Joy  
Take Care-Beach House (for some odd reason I this song gives me wedding vibes)  
Dandelions-Ruth B.  
Photograph-Ed Sheeran  
It's Been a Long, Long Time-Harry James (1940s)

1940s SONGS (to get you in the mood) *yes I did spend a whole afternoon listening to 40s music to create this list*:  
There, I've Said It Again-Vaughn Monroe  
Chattanooga, Choo Choo-Glenn Miller, Tex Beneke, Paula Kelly, The Modernaires  
Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree (With Anybody Else But Me)-Glenn Miller  
In The Middle of May-The Pied Pipers  
Laughing on the Outside (Crying on the Inside)-Dinah Shore  
Moonlight in Vermont-Tommy Dorsey  
Dream-The Pied Pipers  
This Love of Mine-Tommy Dorsey, Frank Sinatra  
I'm Gonna Love That Gal (Like She's Never Been Loved Before)-Perry Como  
In the Mood-Glenn Miller  
It's Been a Long, Long Time-Harry James  
I Had The Craziest Dream-Harry James

Let me know if you have other song suggestions!


End file.
